■ Event: Platform Self-Regulation Organization’s Conference on Self-Regulation Measures

■ Date: May 11, 2023 (Thursday) 14:00 ~ 15:40

■ Venue: Main Conference Room, Post Tower (Myeongdong, Seoul)

On May 11 (Thursday 2 PM), the civilian-led Platform Self-Regulation Organization held its “Conference on Self-Regulation Measures” and announced self-regulation plans developed by its four divisions (Gap-Eul Division, Consumers and Users Division, Data and AI Division, and ESG Division.

The Platform Self-Regulation Organization was launched on August 19 of last year as a discussion body to address the problem of constructing a civilian-led, self-regulatory system in the platform market. It is currently organized around four divisions, namely, the Gap-Eul Division, the Consumers and Users Division, the Data and AI Division, and the ESG Division, each of which has been discussing the problem of self-regulation in its assigned areas.

The “Conference on Self-Regulation Measures” was attended by members of the four divisions, such as key platform operators, representatives from platform operator associations, SMEs, small entrepreneurs, consumer organizations, and civilian experts, in addition to government officials like Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT, Chairperson Han Ki Jeong of the Korea Fair Trade Commission, and Senior Member Kim Hyo-jae of the Korea Communications Commission.

The conference program featured presentations on self-regulation plans delivered by representatives from the four divisions. More specifically, presentations were given on “A plan for self-regulation in the open market” (Gap-Eul Division, Korea On-line Shipping Association), “A rapid response plan in the event of collective damages suffered by open market consumers” (Consumers and Users Division, Professor Kwon Heon-young), and “The principles of self-regulation for improving transparency in platform search/service recommendations” (Data and AI Division, Professor Lee Seong-yeop), and the eight major principles for improving the social values of platforms (ESG Division, Korea Internet Corporations Association).

Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT said, "At a time when self-regulation is being pursued as a national mission to create an ecosystem of fairness and innovation, this conference was a very significant event because the guiding principles for improving the transparency and growth of civilian-led platform services were approved, and all the participants pledged to implement the principles. However, your efforts should not stop with the end of this event. We urge you to work on improving and refining the principles as needed, in order to establish them as the fundamental principles of the platform industry and ensure they are widely adhered to by the industry”.

Chairperson Han Ki-jeong of the Korea Fair Trade Commission said, "Since the self-regulation measures announced today were selected based on the voluntary participation of platform operators, I am confident that we will see high levels of adherence. Furthermore, I hope that a win-win culture formed by the voluntarily efforts of platform operators will take root, paving the way to a healthier platform market ecosystem in South Korea."

Meanwhile, Kim Hyo-jae, a senior member of the Korea Communications Commission said, "The adoption of self-regulation was not an easy mission for all those concerned. But thanks to the voluntary discussions and cooperation on the part of the civilian sector, self-regulation was successfully implemented, and that is an achievement of some significance.” Kim then went to ask the participants to play a continuous role in ensuring that “platform users are protected by self-regulation.”