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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Seoul, Korea – September 1, 2025 – Prosecutors have requested a KRW 200 million (approx. USD 145,000) fine against Naver on charges of abusing its market dominance in the real estate listings sector, according to reports from News1.
At a hearing held on August 25 at the Seoul Central District Court (Judge Lim Hye-won presiding), the prosecution urged the court to impose the fine on Naver for violating Korea’s Fair Trade Act. The court is scheduled to deliver its first-instance ruling on September 18 at 10 a.m.
Between May 2015 and September 2017, Naver allegedly entered into contracts with real estate information providers that prohibited them from supplying listing data to rival platforms such as Kakao. Prosecutors argue that this amounted to unfair exclusion of competitors.
The case originated from an earlier Fair Trade Commission (FTC) investigation, which resulted in corrective orders and an administrative fine of KRW 1.032 billion (approx. USD 750,000) before the matter was referred to prosecutors.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
