Can Antitrust Agencies Protect the Public Interest in Telecommunications Mergers? ― Suggestions regarding the Amendment of the Korea Broadcasting Act in Respect to the Role of the Korea Broadcasting Commission in the Merger Process ―

Telecommunication Act of 1996 has introduced competition in telecommunication industry. Since then the antitrust regulation has become important in this sector, encroaching on what used to be the jurisdiction of FCC. This is especially true in merger case. For telecommunication companies to merge, it is required that they get approval from both DOJ and FCC. This paper is to examine the nature of this correlation by looking into the cases of US and Korea. There are less merger cases in Korea yet. However it would be meaningful to compare the relationships between Fair Trade Commission, the Ministry of Information and Communication, and Korean Broadcasting Commission arising in the context of unfair competition or anticompetitive pricing with that of the United States. This will enable us to see how two countries carry out their respective telecommunication policies.