• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.73-89
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• 2022

After COVID-19, the percentage of digital consumption has soared. Meanwhile, as the online platform market grows in size and digital commerce is activated, controversy over the "dark pattern" that induces consumers to do unintended things online continues. Dark patterns are deceptive design patterns that cause consumer rights and financial damage and can result in damaging fair market competition. As a result, the need to regulate dark patterns is raised not only by overseas regulators but also in Korea, and there are growing calls for strengthening consumer protection against dark patterns, with amendments to related laws being proposed by the National Assembly. On the other hand, there is no agreed definition of dark pattern from a normative point of view, and there is a concern that even legitimate advertising marketing activities of companies may be regulated, so a review of dark pattern regulatory measures is required. In this study, dark patterns were reviewed from a normative point of view and appropriate regulatory measures were analyzed. In particular, the problem of the dark pattern can be applied in a way that the market regulates and controls itself in consideration of the characteristics of the online platform. This study reviewed the possibility of self-regulation for dart patterns and proposed the role of each subject.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.141-148
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• 2022

New services such as OTT have appeared, and the value chain of the media industry has formed a complex terrain, and new problems have arisen in terms of fair competition between operators and user protection. However, the problem of introducing OTT under the existing law that classifies services by physical characteristics and technical elements of the network has been criticized in terms of hindering industrial activation due to excessive regulation. The introduction of the new regulatory system has been delayed for a long time despite the dissatisfaction of stakeholders and attempts to legislate

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.87-110
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• 2017

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles and effects of FTAs (Free Trade Agreements) in agroindustrialization, and to navigate its implication for the government support for the utilization of FTAs in the agriculture sector. The paper, in particular, is based on a case of contract farming, which has often referred as the key factor of agroindustrialization. By doing this, this paper has the importance academically in enhancing the study of FTA utilization to the study of agroindustrialization, and practically in exploring the implication for the FTA implementation policy that provides fundamental solutions to the issues of agriculture sector. As the results of this study, it is highlighted that the role of government that intermediates, monitors, and controls the equal and the fair relationship between the agribusiness firms and farms is essential for the further progress of agroindustrialization under the keen competition created by FTAs.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.15
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• pp.169-209
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• 2001

As a domain name can be registered simply by filing an application for registration, disputes over the domain name between the holder of domain name and the holder of trademark increased. Since the holder of trademark who was late for registering domain name is willing to pay for the return of domain name, cybersquatters increased. Cybersqatters are not genuine users of the Internet. This article is to compare the construction of law by American Courts and by Korean Courts and to assert the creation of the law similar to the law of US as to anti-cybersqatting. American Courts applied the Trademark Act and the Anti-Dilution Act to resolve the disputes over domain name. To apply the Trademark Act, the Court required the plaintiffs to prove that the goods or the services expressed by the domain name should be identical or similar to the goods or the services represented by the trademark. However, there were many cases where the holder of domain name used it for the goods or the services irrelevant to those of the holder of trademark. Also, the Anti-Dilution Act could not successfully protect the holder of trademark from cybersquatters because it required that the trademark should be famous or distinctive. As a result, the US promulgated a new law which is designed to prohibit cybersquatters from being free of sanction by the existing laws. Korea Courts applied the Trademark Act and the Unfair Competition Prohibition Act to the cases disputing domain name. Likewise in the US, Korean Courts must cope with the issue of identity of the goods or the services, and the famousness or distinctiveness of trademark. The Courts hesitate to give a winning judgement to the holder of trademark simply because the domain name of alleged violator confused the trademark. Some scholars advocate the broadening of construction of the Unfair Competition Prohibition Act to illegalize cybersquatting but it is beyond the meaning of the law. Accordingly, it is a time to make a law similar to the Anti-Cybersquatting Act of the US. The law must be a fair and reasonable compromise to resolve the collision between system of registration of domain name and the system of registration of trademark. Some commentators advocate that the registration of domain name should be examined just as the one of trademark and to facilitate it, the Patent and Trademark Office should have jurisdiction of registration of domain name. But it abandons the distinction of domain name and trademark and results in obstructing e-commerce. By adopting the Anti-Cybersqatting Act, we can prohibit it. In other cases, we get a reasonable adjustment between the holder of domain name and the holder of trademark through the Trademark Act and the Unfair Competition Prohibition Act.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.143-156
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• 2019

Discussion on OTT regulation has become fiercer, as OTT services' impacts on the global and domestic media market have been exponentially growing. In South Korea, it is argued that, on the basis of the similarity between television program and OTT's video content, OTT needs to be regulated in order to protect fair competition and to control sociocultural effects. In many of the discussions, developed countries' cases have been used for supporting OTT regulation. In this paper, we first analyzed the global OTT market trends based on our own categorization of OTT services. then we assessed the validity of the application of the foreign cases in the current OTT regulation debates in Korea. We proposed six OTT types (aggregation, mediation, mediation-aggregation, multi-screen, outlet, and outlet-linear) simultaneously considering service operator' origin, business model, content format, and content delivery. These services have been consistently evolving, and the OTT market has been increasingly competitive especially around content differentiation. Regulators must be wary of hastily introducing competition regulation to the dynamically innovating OTT market. The foreign cases, including the US, EU, the UK, and Japan, hardly seem to be appropriate bases for strengthening OTT regulation. Rather, they were focused more on promoting competition in the domestic media market and enriching the content ecosystem. Therefore, we need to consider revision of the outdated media regulation frameworks instead of fitting OTT under them, and to recognize the priority of securing practical jurisdiction on global service providers before capturing local players into the conventional regulation systems.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.175-209
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• 2019

The bundled discounting which the dominant undertakings engage in is problematic in terms of competition restraint. Bundled discounts generally benefit not only buyers but also sellers. Specifically, bundled discounts usually costs a firm less to sell multiple products. In addition, Bundled discounts always provide some immediate consumer benefit in the form of lower prices. Therefore, competition authorities and courts should not be too quick to condemn bundled discounts and apply the neutral and objective standard in bundled discounting cases. Cascade Health v. Peacehealth decision starts ruling from this prerequisite. This decision pointed out that the dominant undertaking can exclude rivals through bundled discounting without pricing its products below its cost when rivals do not sell as great a number of product lines. So bundled discounting may have the anticompetitive impact by excluding less diversified but more efficient producers. This decision did not adopt Lepage case's standard which does not require the court to consider whether the competitor was at least as efficient of a producer as the bundled discounter. Instead of that, based on cost based approach, this decision said that the exclusionary element can not be satisfied unless the discounts result in prices that are below an appropriate measures of the defendant's costs. By adopting a discount attribution standard, this decision said that the full amount of the discounts should be allocated to the competitive products. As the seller can easily ascertain its own prices and costs of production and calculate whether its discounting practices exclude competitors, not the competitor's costs but the dominant undertaking's costs should be considered in applying discount attribution standard. This case deals with bundled discounting practice of multiple healthcare services by the dominant undertaking in healthcare market. Under the Korean healthcare system and public health insurance system, the price competition primarily exists in non-medical care benefits because public healthcare insurance in Korea is in combination with the compulsory medical care institution system. The cases that Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Law deals with, such as cartel and the abuse of monopoly power, also mainly exist in non-medical care benefits. The dominant undertaking's exclusionary bundled discounting in Korean healthcare markets may be practiced in the contracts between the dominant undertaking and private insurance companies with regards to non-medical care benefits.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.95-123
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• 1990

Advertising, while providing a linkage between sales and consumption, helps promote rational consumption patterns by expanding the scope of information for consumers facing an ever-increasing array of consumption decisions. In so doing, advertising promotes competition among suppliers and sellers, thereby improving market transparency. Intrinsically, advertising can influence the instantaneous decisions made by consumers, and because of this peculiar feature of advertising, ensuring fair advertising practices is a policy issue of great importance. Concurrently, discerning whether the amount of advertising, which is determined by the profit motive of advertisers, is socially appropriate or whether this amount constitutes a waste of scarce resources is a necessary and indispensable consideration in establishing a public policy to respond to the mounting deluge of advertising. Although the Fair Trade Act and numerous other related laws are being enforced with regard to advertising, it may be difficult to say that a unified, practicable and logical basis for regulating the variegated and complex forms of advertising has been established. This paper examines the various theoretical arguments on the welfare effects of advertising as a rationale to justify regulation from the viewpoint of economics. In this manner, this paper helps define the essential nature of advertising and seeks to present a rational approach toward the regulation of advertising.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.123-128
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• 2014

Purpose - The purpose of the study is to reexamine the price fairness as practiced by low cost airlines, as a consumer has to experience such inconveniences as inferior airport transportation, extra fees on in-flight meals, and non-negotiable seats, and consumers evaluate such experiences keeping in mind their total costs. This evaluation includes price fairness and allows a reasonable and overall consideration of factors of low cost airlines. It tries to set up a measurement of the indicators consumers' perceptions of price fairness academically as it adapts price fairness to airline services which are renowned for price volatility. Research design, data, and methodology - The research proposes an alternative pricing strategy for the long term profit of low cost airlines after going over conflicts between the traditional theory of consumers' price perception mechanism and flexible fair policy of low cost airlines. It was meaningful when it relates to the early stage of the business, while it enhances the risks relating to the long term survival of low cost airlines. In addition, it is significant as it highlights the negative influences on consumers' perceptions of price fairness, as low cost airlines run on extremely low cost perspectives. Results - The results of the research provide insight into four perspectives, as consumers' perceptions of price fairness are influenced by the frequency and range of price changes and services. The first perspective is that it would lead to positive price evaluation when a low cost airline cuts prices frequently with little changes than one big change. It also would lead to the same result when it comes to necessary services. The second perspective is that one big increase of price would rather undermine the negative aspects of price changes than those of several smaller ones. The third perspective is that additional services would be good to consumers' perceptions of price fairness as compared to discount benefits with respect to the cost. Finally, a low cost airline should consider that consumers will change airlines or defer their flight schedule if the flight fares increase beyond their limits. Conclusions - Low cost airlines should reconsider their pricing policies for services that were provided free earlier. A consumer would not like discount benefits when made to pay for services that were, for long, free of charge. If a low cost airline can provide services with no charge, it should improve volumes if the costs are standardized and, moreover, should consider the charging fees. Alternatively, a consumer can choose between services and fair discount. Low cost airlines are implementing sales promotion strategies, as the competition is more intense than it used to be. In these days, they should regard services over sales promotion, as consumers may prefer to spend money on good premium services. Some differentiation in services could create a good market position for the airlines and, hence, good financial performance.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.397-409
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• 2015

The Global Financial Crisis and introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) urged the banks to strengthen their asset qualities. The banks dispose their non performing loans(NPLs) consistently to maintain a sufficient BIS capital adequacy ratio. Accordingly, the interests in auctions, as a disposal method, of real estates that secured for NPLs are on the increasing. This study suggest an alternative for fairness consolidation of real estate auctions which secured for NPLs. First, the impartial entry barriers for NPL sales markets need to be eliminated for fair bidding competition in auctions for real estate that secured for NPLs. In addition, the portion of NPL disposal by real estate auctions need to be expanded. Second, the asymmetry of trade information in the retail markets of NPLs and the abuse of offset by NPL owners' also should be restricted. The Fairness improvement of NPL trading process and real estate auction process that secured for them would of great use in the protection of bidders. Futhermore, it would also contribute to the revitalization of real estate auction markets and the resolution of NPLs of banks through fair disposal of distressed assets.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.33
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• pp.169-191
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• 2006

Changing our monopoly broadcasting advertising system into free competition system may give rise to serious troubles that intensify commercialism of broadcasting and reduce diversity of public opinion. In the boundaries of public interest out of danger, korean broadcasting system should adopt a system that partially adopts the principle of free market. Broadcasting advertising sale system affect the whole broadcasting system because it functions as an effective capital-resource provider. Thus, it affects the broadcasting policies' righteousness and efficiency. Due to the non-elastic nature of the total advertising market, broadcasting advertising's size affects other media's capital allocation process. Therefore, broadcasting advertising sales system not only affects broadcast's social duty and public interest, but also affects the whole media industry. First, provide fair and open-competitive measures to support broadcast sales policy so that the market-based system can be run smoothly. Second, block any un-due influence from advertisers by separating production/programming and advertising sales. Third, sustain public broadcast system, not based on the advertising sales but based on the subscription fee. Fourth, social intervention of the advertising market. Fifth, provide policies that can set up multiple media channels/outlets and public opinion. By providing the minimum capital resources to the public broadcasting system, the broadcasting system can act on its public-interest duty and support the people's right-to-know rights.