대규모 유통업자의 PB상품 유통 관련 공정거래법 집행상의 쟁점 및 규제방안 고찰

PB products served by large-scare distributors may have a positive effect on consumer welfare and market competition because their distribution gives comsumer opportunities to purchase good quality products with competitive prices. However, large-scale distributors can enhance their superior bargaining power as a buyer to upstream suppliers by selling their PB products and forming rivalry, and thus PB products distribution by large-scale distributors might negatively influence in terms of consumer welfare and fair trade. This paper investigated possible regulatory measures in enforcing fair trade act against the abuse of superior buyer power of large-scale distributors in relation to their PB products delivery by examining the regulations of current acts and their limits. The paper suggests that it is desirable for the competition authority to consider whether large-scale distributors distribute their own PB products or not and the shares of them to overall sales of large-scale distributors, etc. when it determines the abuse of market dominance of large-scale distributors as a buyer to upstream suppliers, anticompetitive or the unfair trade conducts to upstream manufacturers producing NB products competing their PB products.