국내 경쟁법 절차에 비밀유지권 도입 검토 - 일본의 제도를 중심으로 -

This article mainly focused on explaining the details of the Legal Professional Privilege(“LPP”), which is recently introduced in the competition law procedure of Japan, and looking at the implications that should be considered when the LPP is introduced in South Korea. The new LPP system in Japan has a similar form to the EU competition law with respect to its content and procedures. Although the scope of the LPP is limited to cases related to cartels, the introduction of the LPP is important since Japan was one of the few countries where the LPP was not recognized. The Supreme Court of South Korea explicitly denied the LPP in 2012, but there is ample need for the exchange of legal communication between an attorney and client to be recognized as a secret as part of the right to defend in the competition law procedure in Korea. After the introduction of LPP in Japan, South Korea become the only OECD member country that denies the LPP in competition law. Thus, it is necessary to recognize the LPP in the competition law enforcement system as soon as possible. Regarding the specifics of the LPP, the discussion could be based on the content of the LPP system in the EU and Japan.