FTC Korea Weighs Reviving Investigation Bureau After 21 Years

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is considering a plan that would effectively revive its Investigation Bureau, once known for handling probes into major conglomerates, 21 years after it was abolished. During a reorganization planned for the second half of this year, from July to December, the FTC is consulting with the Ministry of Planning and Budget, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and others on increasing its headcount by about 230. The move follows President Lee Jae-myung’s instruction at a late-year FTC briefing to sharply expand staffing so work would not be delayed by personnel shortages. The FTC plans to strengthen its investigation and analysis functions. As part of that effort, it is seeking to greatly expand the seven-member key investigation team created in 2024 and raise it to bureau status. The team was set up to investigate major cases involving multiple legal violations, but concerns have persisted over staffing limits. If upgraded, analysts say it would amount to the revival of the bureau abolished in 2005. Source: rss.donga.com