Since 1981

• 1980s
  • 1980

    Enactment & Promulgation of Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (MRFTA).

  • 1981

    Establishment of the KFTC within Economic Planning Board (EPB), and launched Fair Trade Office as a working body.

  • 1984

    Subcontracting-related regulations were separated from the MRFTA, and enacted as the Fair Subcontract Transactions Act.

• 1990s
  • 1990

    Fair Trade Office was expanded and renamed as Secretariat of Fair Trade Commission. Regional offices were built in Busan, Gwangju, and Daejeon (Daegu in 1992, and Seoul in 2006)

  • 1993

    Authority over Adhesion Contract Act was transferred from Price Policy Bureau of Economic Planning Board to Fair Trade Commission, which began its enforcement.

  • 1994

    Became an independent vice ministerial-level, central administrative organization separated from the EPB.

  • 1996

    Elevation of the status of the Chairperson to ministerial level

  • 1999

    Fair Labeling and Advertising Act was enacted. Omnibus Cartel Repeal Act was enacted for abolition of fee cartels in 9 certified professions, i.e. lawyer, accountant, tax accountant, and 6 other professions, and for other regulatory reforms. Authority over Act on Door-to-Door Sales, etc. and Installment Transactions Act was transferred from Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy to KFTC, which formed an institutional basis for consumer rights protection in special types of transactions.

• 2000s
  • 2002

    Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, etc. was enacted as an institutional basis for protecting consumer interests in the rapidly expanding field of electronic commerce.

  • 2002

    The Fair Franchise Transactions Act was enacted

  • 2007

    Became a sole competent authority of consumer issues as the KFTC took over the jurisdiction of the Framework Act on Consumers from the Ministry of Finance and Economy and brought the Korea Consumer Agency as an organization within the KFTC.

• 2010s
  • 2011

    The Fair Transactions in Large Franchise and Retail Business Act was enacted.

  • 2015

    The Fair Transactions in Agency Business Act was enacted.

  • 2016

    The Anti-Monopoly Investigation Division (Knowledge Industry) was established to enhance antitrust enforcement in Knowledge industries.

  • 2017

    The Business Group Monitoring Bureau and the Digital Investigation Division were established to prevent unfair business practices of large business groups, such as inter-affiliate trades, and to enhance organizational capabilities in identifying and analyzing electronic evidence.

  • 2018

    The Director General for Distribution and the Technology Misappropriation Investigation Team were established to enhance protection for microbusinesses in distribution and to prevent large businesses from misappropriating technologies from SMEs.

• 2020s
  • 2022

    The Technology Misappropriation Investigation Team was expanded into the Technology Misappropriation Investigation Division to enhance efforts in eradicating IP infringement. The KFTC’s personnel management system was streamlined to enhance the operational efficiency of government organizations.

  • 2023

    The Director for Secretary General for Investigation was established as part of the organizational reform that separates policy-making from investigation.

  • 2023

    The Director for Secretary General for Investigation was allocated additional staff to enhance support for Director-led Investigations.