[Reporter's Notebook] FTC's costly crackdown on conglomerates generates little return

The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) increasingly aggressive crackdown on major conglomerates is generating a costly cycle with little tangible return, as the watchdog has been forced to refund billions of won in fines overturned by courts. The watchdog has returned nearly 290 billion won ($216.7 million) to companies since 2022 after administrative court rulings overturned its sanctions. The figures raise questions about whether the regulator’s tougher enforcement produces lasting results or simply creates more legal and financial burdens for both businesses and taxpayers. The latest figures offer little reassurance. For the first nine months combined this year, the FTC returned 23 billion won in fines and associated payments, with 99.7 percent of the amount attributable to sanctions overturned in whole or in part through administrative litigation, according to data submitted to Rep. Choi Eun-seok of the main opposition People Power Party. But the regulator is moving in the opposite direction. Since President Lee Jae Myung took office last year, the government has pushed to strengthen