온라인 플랫폼 사업자의 관련시장과 시장지배력 판단기준에 대한 고찰

This article addressed some legal and political issues concerning monopolistic power over zero-price goods in European Union, Germany, U.S., and South Korea. There is little doubt that the established concept of market power under the Korean competition law has presumed positive-price goods rather than zero-price goods. The Korean Constitution has also presumed market power over positive-price goods. But some argues that big online platforms may have monopolistic power over zero-price goods such as internet search services. In December 2021, the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) sanctioned Google for the reason of its abuse of monopolistic power over zero-price goods. In January 2023, the KFTC introduced its new guidelines on monopolistice power over zero-price goods. Considering various aspects of zero-price goods as well as the jurisprudence of the Korean Constitution and competition law, this article concluded that a misleading concept of monopolistic power over zero-price goods should not be accepted in South Korea.