South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has ordered five hotel reservation platforms to correct their unfair practices of guaranteeing the lowest prices under a price-parity clause.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced on Monday, March 15, that it ordered a remedial measure on five accommodation platforms – Interpark, Booking.com, Agoda, Expedia, and Hotels.com – which are accused of damaging fair competition by abusing a parity clause also known as most-favored nation (MFN). The regulator stated the platforms have been preventing the hotels with which they have signed the clause from offering lower prices at other platforms.
An official from the competition watchdog said the platforms are committed to correct the practices voluntarily to restore fair competition in the market. The KFTC will strengthen scrutiny on other digital platforms to prevent similar cases, the official added.
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