South Korea: KFTC probes Subway

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog is probing the US franchise Subway over an allegation that it forced a local franchisee to shut down his shop without a proper reason, reported The Korea Herald. 

The Fair Trade Commission’s (KFTC) Seoul office recently concluded in its preliminary investigation that the American franchise might have violated the local franchise business law and filed the case to an in-house judging committee.

The probe began as one store owner of Subway chain in Pyeongchon, Gyeonggi Province reported the American firm to the antitrust watchdog. 

The case dates back to October 2017 when Subway told the shop owner, only identified with his surname Ji, to close the store on the grounds that his penalty points had exceeded the limit, according to the KFTC officials. 

The franchisee resisted and was told to file the case to the Arbitration and Resolution Center in the US if he wants to appeal. The Korean franchisee filed the case with the arbitration body, but the Center concluded that the closure was reasonable in August this year.

Full Content: Korea Herald

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