The government will investigate large conglomerates' unfair practices in dealing with their smaller firms in an effort to establish "sound and fair" business relationships, officials said Wednesday.
Seoul will launch a team led by ranking antitrust officials and private sector
experts to run the probe, according to the officials from the Fair Trade Commission and other related agencies.
Based on its preliminary investigation, the team will begin operating in August, mainly focusing on unfair practices such as unilateral price cut demands and larger firms stealing technologies from their partner companies.
Earlier this month, officials from the FTC, the labor ministry and other agencies began gathering related information, including complaints about
such practices from 1,500 smaller companies, they said.
The move comes after Prime Minister Chung Un-chan recently ordered his staff to prepare for countermeasures, saying the recent economic recovery has failed to trickle down to the small and mid-sized business community due to these unfair relationships.