Fair Trade Commission postpones collection of 453.1 billion won in fines... Increased 15 times in 2 years and 8 months

Park Seong-hoon "Execution of fines is as important as imposition... We need to check the possibility of recovery."

(Sejong = Yonhap News) Reporter Song Jeong-eun = The Fair Trade Commission imposed fines, but the amount of delayed collection due to the court's decision to suspend execution or initiate rehabilitation procedures exceeded 450 billion won as of the end of August this year.

According to data submitted by People Power Party lawmaker Park Seong-hoon, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, from the Fair Trade Commission on the 14th, the accumulated fine collection deferral amount as of the end of August this year was 453.078 billion won.

As of the end of the year, the amount of fine collection deferral increased from 8.37 billion won in 2021 to 37.263 billion won in 2022, and then decreased again to 29.465 billion won in 2023.

Then, in 2024, it surged 523.0% compared to the previous year to 183.572 billion won.

Last year, it recorded 187.622 billion won, and this year it jumped even more.

As of August of this year, the amount of deferred collection is 2.4 times that of the end of last year, and approximately 15.4 times that of the end of 2023.

The Fair Trade Commission explained to the lawmaker's office that the moratorium on collection is due to the court's decision to suspend execution or initiate rehabilitation procedures, and that it is difficult to calculate the number of days for each case.

Fines are a representative financial sanction for violations of the Fair Trade Act, and some point out that there is a need to manage the cause of the increase and whether it will be prolonged, as not only the amount of the imposition but also the actual collection is directly related to the effectiveness of the sanction.

Rep. Park said, “It is meaningful that the sanctions do not end with the imposition of large fines, but rather lead to actual execution.” He added, “We must respect the reasonable suspension following the court’s decision, but continue to manage the size and recovery possibility of fines that have been tied up for a long time to ensure that the effectiveness of the sanctions does not decline.”