S. Korea, EU to sign accord on anti-competition practices

SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the European Union (EU) will sign a bilateral agreement on cooperation on anti-competitive activities over the weekend as part of efforts to curb such practices, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Friday.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his EU counterparts will hold a summit
Saturday for discussions on ways to increase cooperation between the sides,
currently working to sign a free trade agreement.
Following their summit, Lee and the European leaders will attend a ceremony,
marking the signing of the accord, according to South Korea's corporate watchdog.
The FTC said the accord will also help South Korean companies reduce the risk of
being investigated by the EU authorities over anti-competition practices.
A total of 1.72 trillion won (US$1.38 billion) in fines has been levied by
overseas corporate watchdogs on South Korean companies since 1996, 41.4 billion
won of which was imposed by the EU, according to the FTC.
South Korea is also seeking to sign similar accords with the United States, China
and other countries, the watchdog said.