Regulatory reform of the Korean competition law and policy on vertical restraints: a critical analysis of competition law in the Republic of Korea, with reference to the US, the EC, and Japan

This thesis is concerned with the question of whether the Korean competition authority is well prepared for the open market with regard to vertical restraints. This further brings some issues such as of whether the authority partially scrutinises enterprises without proper evidences based on economics. This question has come from the following, ‘what is the fundamental matter in competition laws of Asian developing countries which have different economic development backgrounds than western developed countries?’ This subject has brought a question, even now, to the point the relationship between macroeconomic and microeconomic policies in the middle of competition law. Most of competition scholars focus on microeconomic way of competition law and policy but, in fact, it often seems that macroeconomic concerns have influenced competition laws in developing countries such as the Republic of Korea. Because the Korean economy is still fledging and experiencing further challenges for development, the Korean competition law should be more experimented in order to adjust to the rapid changes in global economy. This task should be done in both macro- and microeconomic levels and also a critical analysis of competition law of the Republic of Korea with reference to the US and the EC since these regimes have diverse legal techniques. Furthermore, since the Korean competition law was heavily influenced by the Japanese antimonopoly law, a comparative study of the Japanese law is necessary. This thesis aims to develop the Korean competition law on vertical restraints through a critical assessment by economics and comparative studies. This is, therefore, the first means for testing concerning vertical regulation that is probably still controversial in the Korean market