Legal advisory case regarding whether there is a violation of the Fair Trade Act regarding discriminatory transaction conditions within the welfare mall platform.
Article posted in 2025-05-15 14:23:18 | VEAT
Law firm Veat researched and legally reviewed whether the change in the welfare mall platform operator's service, which redirects users directly to a specific vendor's product page through partnerships instead of providing a product price comparison function when purchasing certain products, constitutes discriminatory treatment under the Fair Trade Act. We also specifically analyzed whether strengthening collaboration with certain tenant vendors in the operation of the welfare mall could amount to unfair trade practices by discriminating against the terms of trade with other tenant vendors.
In particular, we reviewed whether other tenant vendors received discriminatory treatment in trade conditions due to exclusive collaborations and special marketing exposures with some tenant vendors within the platform.
Under the Fair Trade Act, discriminatory trade conditions refer to unequal treatment in the details of a transaction, such as contract performance methods, payment terms, and supply dates, which are not directly related to price (Unfair Trade Practices Review Guidelines V. 2. Na. (1)).
Such discriminatory actions arise not only when the terms and conditions for one business are significantly more advantageous or disadvantageous compared to other businesses, but also when that significant difference is recognized as unfair (refer to Supreme Court Ruling of May 26, 2006, Case No. 2004Du3014).
Law firm Veat reviewed whether the client's changed operating method constitutes an unfair trade practice violating the Fair Trade Act through comprehensive legal reviews, including Supreme Court precedents and related decisions of the Fair Trade Commission. We also reviewed whether the client's collaboration with some tenant vendors constitutes acts of discriminatory trade conditions for other tenant vendors, and whether the actions are restrictive of competition in the market in which the entity belongs and restrictive of competition in the market in which the counterparty belongs.
Law firm Veat has extensive practical experience in setting up transaction structures in various platform environments such as welfare malls, online shopping malls, and app markets, diagnosing fair trade risks, and analyzing unfair trade practices, and provides precise and strategic legal advice on all fair trade issues that platform operators may face. If you need a legal review for fair platform operation, please contact Law firm Veat, and those who are interested in more specific details regarding this case study should refer to the official Law firm Veat blog below. Thank you.
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