Supreme Court Rulings on Determining the Cartel End Date

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Since the very nature of cartels is to operate in ways that are undisclosed and difficult to track, it is often a matter of heated dispute in courts as to when a cartel has ended or been abandoned. Moreover, the cartel duration is a critical issue because it affects not only the level of sanctions imposed, but also the damages amount sought against the cartelists. The Korean Supreme Court has issued several important rulings regarding this matter, but there still remain areas where further guidance and clarification would be beneficial. Thus, this article explores the relevant Korean Supreme Court rulings and concludes that it is time for the highest court to further articulate the legal test for determining the ending date of a cartel in an effort to eliminate legal uncertainty and establish clearer guidance for market participants.

참고문헌 (Reference)

1 "Verizon Communications v. Law Offices of Curtis V. Trinko, 540 U.S. 398, 408 (2004)"

2 "United States v. U.S. Gypsum Co., 438 U.S. 422, 464-65 (1978)"

3 "United States v. Therm-All, Inc., 373 F.3d 625(5th Cir. 2004)"

4 "United States v. A-A-A- Elec. Co., 788 F.2d 242 (4th Cir. 1996)"

5 "The U.S. Supreme Court in Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 401 U.S. 321 (1971)"

6 "The U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Kissel, 218 U.S. 601 (1910)"

7 "Supreme Court, 2015Du37396, May 28, 2015"

8 "Supreme Court, 2013Du6169, Feb. 12, 2015"

9 "Supreme Court, 2008Du16179, Jan. 3, 2009"

10 "Supreme Court, 2007Du3756, Sept. 25, 2008"

11 "Supreme Court, 2007Du12774, Oct. 23, 2008"

12 "Supreme Court, 2006Du18928, Nov. 29, 2007"

13 "Supreme Court, 2004Du11275, Mar. 24, 2006"

14 "Supreme Court [S. Ct.], 2013Du987, Feb. 12, 2015"

15 "Supreme Court , 2008Du16339, June 25, 2009"

16 "Morton’s Mkt. v. Gustafson’s Dairy, 198 F.3d 823(11th Cir. 1999)"

17 "Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, Act No.13450, Sept. 25, 2015, Article 49"

18 "KFTC Decision, 2010-144, Nov. 29, 2010"

19 "KFTC Decision, 2010-143, Nov. 29, 2010"

20 "KFTC Decision, 2009-249, Nov. 9, 2009"

21 "KFTC Decision, 2008-082, Mar. 5, 2008"

22 "KFTC Decision, 2007-443, Sept. 12, 2007"

23 "KFTC Decision, 2005-080, June 24, 2005"

24 "Guidelines for Criminal Complaint for the MRFTA"

25 Herbert Hovenkamp, "Federal Antitrust Policy: The Law of Competition and Its Practice" 634-, 2005

26 European Commission, "Commission fines member of organic peroxides cartel"

27 "Cimenteries CBR and Others v. Commission, 2000 ECR II-491"

28 "Article 71 of the MRFTA"

29 "Akzo Nobel and Others v. Commission, 2009 ECR I-8237"

30 "Adriatica di Navigazione v. Commission 2003 ECR II-05349"