SEOUL– South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Sunday it has decided to impose a fine of 1.58 billion won (US$1.24 million) on GS Retail Co. for unfairly forcing suppliers to bear marketing costs for products sold on its home shopping channel.
The punishment came as the supermarket chain operator carried out promotional events at home shopping channel GS Shop without properly consulting with its suppliers, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).
After reaching an agreement to share a designated portion of marketing costs on products sold on its channel, GS Retail unilaterally rolled out unscheduled promotions 30 minutes before and after the show, resulting in a higher burden for its suppliers, the regulator said.
From 2017 to 2022, GS Retail asked the suppliers to pay marketing fees of 1.97 billion won in more than 9,300 cases through such practices, the FTC said.
“The latest measure is significant as it uncovered a tactic in which retailers passed on promotional costs to suppliers in a shady manner,” the FTC said in a statement. “We anticipate the move will help in improving trading practices in the future.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency