[한국분양정보] On March 11th, Chairman Sung-wook Cho attended a meeting with representatives of six online platform companies to discuss the current status of damages and countermeasures to SMEs caused by unfair trade in the online platform field.
Chairman Cho explained that there is a blind spot in law enforcement that is difficult to regulate with the existing offline-centered Gaeul-related laws, in a situation where the digital economy shifts to intensify dependence on online platforms of SMEs and various unfair trades are a concern due to the imbalance of power.
Accordingly, it announced that the’Act on the Fairness of Online Platform Brokerage Transactions’ has been established to prevent damages from participating companies and promote win-win cooperation.
In response, representatives of the six small business associations and small business owners discussed the seriousness of the current situation of damage to stores due to unfair trade in the field of online platforms, and urged an swift legislation to protect 1.8 million stores.
First, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses explained that the enactment of the online platform fairness law is a long-awaited desire of the small and medium-sized business community, and since 2017, it has continuously requested disciplinary measures for platform operators.
In particular, he pointed out that legislation should be completed promptly in consideration of the sharp increase in non-face-to-face transactions and the seriousness of damage to SMEs and small business owners caused by Corona 19.
As the biggest difficulty for entering companies is the burden of expenses such as sales commissions and advertising expenses, he emphasized that major transaction conditions such as fee imposition standards, sales price settlement method and procedure should be included as mandatory items in the contract.
The Federation of Small Businessmen urged to complete the legislation that has been continuously requested so far, and pointed out that major countries such as the EU and Japan have already completed legislation to improve platform fairness and transparency.
In order to prevent damage to small business owners such as excessive commissions, management interference, unfair transaction standards setting and change, transfer of responsibility, etc., it is necessary to quickly enact major transaction conditions such as sales commissions, advertising expenses, and search result exposure standards. It is stated that disputes can be prevented by clarifying responsibility, and furthermore, it is necessary to review the group composition rights and the right to request consultations of the participating companies.
The Korean Federation of Small and Medium Business Owners and Business Owners also announced that various unfair behaviors using a dominant position in the platform-oriented economic structure are on the rise, and that the rights of participating companies should be guaranteed by promptly enacting and improving the system.
In particular, they pointed out that major platform operators are dominating the market based on their strong financial power, distribution centers, and delivery systems, and are reorganizing their sales strategies centering on their own PB products by picking up products from participating companies.
It suggested an alternative that it should protect small and medium-sized merchants and self-employed through the enactment of the online platform fairness law, regulate unfair transactions, and support sales activities through the use of public platforms and big data for small and medium-sized merchants and self-employed people.
The Korea Franchise Industry Association pointed out that there is no separate law applicable to platform operators in the context of most restaurant franchisees using delivery apps, and the fact that the legislation is now on the right track is increasing management difficulties due to unfair behavior. He said it was fortunate.
Just as the franchise start-up market, which had been turbid by the enactment of the franchise business law, has been purged and the market credibility has increased, it will be possible to contribute to the growth of the industry if the related system is improved through the enactment of the fair online platform law.
He emphasized that he hopes that the law will be enacted as soon as possible to create a soil where platform operators and merchants can grow together.
The Korea Food Service Federation pointed out the problem that there was no change in delivery app fees and delivery fees even though the catering business owners have been severely affected by the prolonged social distancing, and there have been complaints from catering businesses related to delivery apps since before Corona 19.
Emphasizing that transparent disclosure of delivery app fee calculation methods and fee reduction based on social consensus are necessary to ease the burden of catering business owners, the responsibility of platform operators such as delivery apps has been clarified through improvement of related laws and systems, and consumers and owners It has been stated that the transfer of costs to the company should be blocked.
The Korea Lodging Business Federation said that as lodging apps competitively induce high-priced advertisements for top exposure and forced to guarantee the lowest price compared to competing platforms, lodging owners face a crisis of existence beyond deterioration in profitability.
He pointed out that all the damage is being passed on to the owners because the lodging app registers accommodations that do not comply with safety standards while taking various benefits with fees and is not responsible for various issues such as reservation issues for minors.
Furthermore, he emphasized that it is necessary to reinvest for accommodation owners rather than using the profits of lodging app operators to expand their own franchise, as lodging app operators directly enter the lodging industry and operate franchises. .
In response, Chairman Cho is heavily accepting the damage situation of SMEs and small business owners and the urgent voice of the industry calling for prompt countermeasures. They answered that they would lay the foundation for win-win cooperation between the platform and the companies entering the store.
In addition, various opinions of vendors who request more proactive countermeasures against various unfair behaviors of online platform operators and damages of small and medium-sized businesses are also carefully reviewed. He announced that it will be reflected in a balanced way.