Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act — Article 2 (Definitions)

The terms used in this Act are defined as follows: <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>1. "Business entity" means an entity that engages in manufacturing business, service business, or other business; in such cases, executive officers, employees (referring to persons continuously engaging in the business of the company, other than executive officers; hereinafter the same shall apply), agents, and other persons who act for the benefit of the business entity shall be deemed business entities for purposes of applying provisions concerning trade associations;2. "Trade association" means an association or a federation organized by two or more business entities for the purpose of promoting their common interests, regardless of its form;3. "Market-dominant business entity" means a business entity that is a supplier or consumer in a particular business area, in a market position to determine, maintain, or change the price, quantity, quality, or other terms and conditions of transactions of goods or services, either alone or together with other business entities; in such cases, when determining whether a business entity is a market-dominant business entity, its market share, the existence and degree of entry barriers, and the relative size of competitors, etc. shall be comprehensively taken into account;4. "Particular business area" means an area in which any competitive relationship exists or may exist, by the subject, stage, or geographical area of a transaction;5. "Practice substantially restricting competition" means a practice that results in circumstances affecting or likely to affect the determination of price, quantity, quality, or other terms and conditions of transactions, etc. freely to some extent according to the intent of a specific business entity or trade association, due to reduced competition in a particular business area;6. "Executive officer" means any of the following persons:a. A director;b. A chief executive officer (CEO);c. A general partner who performs the business;d. An auditor;e. A person who corresponds to any person specified in items a through d;f. A commercial employee who is able to manage the overall business affairs of the main office or a branch office, including a manager;7. "Holding company" means a company whose main business is to control the business of a domestic company through ownership of shares (including equities; hereinafter the same shall apply), and whose total assets are at least the amount prescribed by Presidential Decree; in such cases, the criteria for the main business shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree;8. "Subsidiary" means a domestic company whose business is controlled by a holding company under the conditions prescribed by Presidential Decree;9. "Second-tier subsidiary" means a domestic company whose business is controlled by a subsidiary under the conditions prescribed by Presidential Decree;10. "Financial business or insurance business" means the financial and insurance business under the Korean Standard Industrial Classification publicly notified by the Minister of Data and Statistics under Article 22 (1) of the Statistical Act; provided, a general holding company under Article 18 (2) 5 shall not be construed as a company engaging in financial business or insurance business;11. "Business group" means a group of companies whose business is under the de facto control of the same person according to the criteria prescribed by Presidential Decree as classified below:a. Where the same person is a company: A group of the same person and one or more companies controlled by the same person;b. Where the same person is not a company: A group of two or more companies controlled by the same person;12. "Affiliate" means each member company of the same business group with two or more members, which is referred to as an affiliate of the other party;13. "Shareholding in an affiliate" means an act of a member company of a business group acquiring or owning shares of an affiliate;14. "Company having a shareholding in an affiliate" means an affiliate that acquires or owns shares of another affiliate through shareholding in that affiliate;15. "Issuing company" means an affiliate that has issued shares acquired or owned by a company having a shareholding in that affiliate;16. "Circular shareholding" means a relationship of shareholding in which affiliates are interconnected by establishing a chain of at least three shareholdings, all acting both as a company having a shareholding in an affiliate and as an issuing company;17. "Group of circular shareholding companies" means a group of affiliates in a circular shareholding relationship, among member companies of a business group;18. "Debt guarantee" means a guarantee provided by a member company of a business group to a domestic affiliate in connection with credits granted by any of the following domestic financial institutions:a. Banks under the Banking Act;b. The Korea Development Bank under the Korea Development Bank Act;c. The Export-Import Bank of Korea under the Export-Import Bank of Korea Act;d. The Industrial Bank of Korea under the Industrial Bank of Korea Act;e. An insurance company under the Insurance Business Act;f. An investment trader, an investment broker, or a merchant bank under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act;g. Other financial institutions prescribed by Presidential Decree;19. "Credit" means any loan or any guarantee or assumption of corporate debts by domestic financial institutions;20. "Practice of resale price maintenance" means an act in a transaction of goods or services whereby a business entity forces another business entity which is the other party to the transaction, or any other business entity in each subsequent transaction stage, to sell goods or to provide services at a price determined by the first-mentioned business entity, or an act of making a transaction under other binding terms and conditions thereon to sell goods or to provide services at the determined price.