16-17 November 2020
The 2nd EU-Korea Competition Week took place online on 16 and 17 November 2020. Officials and experts from the EU and Korea met to discuss and exchange good practices in competition policy and enforcement. The initiative is the second in a series of annual dialogues providing a platform for cooperation and frank exchanges between the European Commission Directorate-General for Competition (DG Competition), the EU Member States National Competition Authorities and the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC).
The Competition Week opened on 16 November with a session on the future of regulation and competition enforcement in digital markets in the EU and in Korea. The second day focused on the economic tools for assessing competition in digital markets, to ensure that the digital economy benefits consumers and the broader business environment.
EU-Korea Competition Weeks will take place annually, allowing officials from DG Competition and the KFTC to engage in a dialogue to enhance cooperation and transparency in the field of competition.
AGENDA
TBC
Monday 16 November 2020
The future of regulation and competition enforcement in digital markets in the EU and Korea
06:45-07:00: Registration / Virtual room open
07:05-07:25: Opening remarks:
Mr Tae Ho HWANG, Director, International Cooperation Division, Korea Fair Trade Commission
Mr. Christophe Besse, Head of Trade Section, EU Delegation to Korea
09:25 -10:00: New initiatives in Europe and Korea to preserve and promote competition in digital markets
This session will provide an overview of the respective EU and Korean recent initiatives to identify and address competition concerns in the digital economy. This will include an overview of recent studies and next steps, enforcement actions, as well as proposals for online platform regulation and new regulatory tools. It will consider the rationale for these initiatives as well as the merits and challenges of ex ante regulation. In addition the session will explore the potential for divergent approaches to regulation and enforcement across jurisdictions given the international nature of many online platforms, and how to address such risks.
Moderator: Ms. Hilary Jennings, Senior Competition Expert, Competition Cooperation Project
Presentations by:
– Ms Inhea KO, Senior Deputy Director, Anti-Monopoly Division, Korea Fair Trade Commission
– Mr Thorsten KÄSEBERG, Head of Unit, General Issues of Competition Policy, Competition Law, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany
– Mr Claes BENGTSSON, Head of Unit, Chief Economist’s Team, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Discussion session
Tuesday 17 November 2020
Economic tools for assessing competition in digital markets
06:45-07:00: Registration / Virtual room open
07:05-09:45: Applying economic tools to competition analysis in digital platforms
This session will discuss EU and Korean experiences with analysing market power and the competitive process in the case of digital platforms. Topics to consider:
- market definition issues and the suitability of market definition
- market definition, market power or wider assessments of platform markets’ ecosystems?
- assessing the dynamics of competition in digital markets – dynamic consumer welfare vs static efficiencies;
- switching analysis from prices and consumer switching behaviour to investment and innovation?
- are rule of thumb tools still relevant in this analysis?
- is there a consistent analytical framework?
- case examples
Moderator: Ms. Hilary Jennings, Senior Competition Expert, Competition Cooperation Project
Presentations by:
– Mr Claes BENGTSSON, Head of Unit, Chief Economist’s Team, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
– Mr Etienne Pfister, Chief Economist, Autorité de la Concurrence – French Competition Authority
– Mr Sung Ick CHO, Director, Economic Analysis Division, Korea Fair Trade Commission
Discussion session
09:45-10:00: Closing remarks
– Mr Torben TOFT, Senior Expert, Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
– Mr Tae Ho HWANG, Director, International Cooperation Division, Korea Fair Trade Commission