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(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Pil Joong Jeong – The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has issued a corrective order to Purmil Co., a South Korean dairy and beverage company, for imposing minimum online retail prices on three "Caffe Bene" cup coffee products supplied to its online distributors.
According to the KFTC, from August 2021 to November 2024, Purmil set minimum online sales prices for its cup coffee products (6,500 won per box, 13,000 won for two boxes or more, etc.) and required its online distributors to comply with these price floors.
Purmil established a monitoring system to check whether online distributors adhered to the set prices and notified them that non-compliance could result in disadvantages such as increased supply prices or suspension of supply.
The KFTC determined that these practices restricted the distributors' independent pricing authority, in violation of Article 46 of the Fair Trade Act, South Korea's antitrust law. The commission emphasized that online distributors, as independent businesses, must be able to set their own sales prices autonomously.
As a result, the KFTC issued a corrective order and required Purmil to notify its online distributors of this decision.
joongjp@yna.co.kr
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