According to Article 27, the Commission, when conducting investigations in accordance with this Law, shall follow the procedures stated below:

1. Notify the parties concerned and interested persons to appear before the Commission to make statements;
2. Notify the relevant organizations, groups, enterprises, or individuals to submit their account books, documents, and other necessary information or evidence; and
3. Send personnel to the offices, or place of business, of the relevant groups or enterprises or to other locations to conduct necessary investigations.

Relevant article of law: Fair Trade Law, Article 27

Under Article 27-1 of the Fair Trade Law, during the course of an investigation conducted pursuant to the preceding Article, a party or a related person, for the need of claiming or defending its legal rights and interests, may apply to read, transcribe, photocopy, or photograph relevant materials or files except the following:

1. Drafts of an administrative decision or any other working document prepared for a case.
2. Materials related to national defense, military affairs, diplomatic affairs, and any other official secrets that are required to be kept confidential by laws or regulations.
3. Materials relating to personal privacy, professional secrets, or business secrets that are required to be kept confidential by laws or regulations.
4. Where it is likely to infringe the rights and interests of a third party.
5. Where it is likely to seriously obstruct the performance of the official duties in maintaining social order, public security, or any other public interests.

Relevant articles of law: Fair Trade Law, Articles 27, 27-1

1. In general, when handling complaints, the Commission will require the complainant or informant to provide concrete evidence and particulars of the proclaimed unlawful acts. After deliberating on the evidence presented, the Commission will accept the complaint and further investigate it if this Law is applicable. If the complainant or informant fails to provide evidence where required, or if the complaint is not within the scope of this Law, the complaint will be rejected.
2. Once an investigation is underway, if the Commission finds that the complaint is inconsistent with facts, it will terminate the investigation and will not require the defendant to appear before it to make statements. In this way, complainants and informants are prevented from abusing the Commission’s investigative procedures to harass competitors or gain bargaining position with competitors or trading counterparts.
   

Article 30 of this Law states that if any enterprise violates any of the provisions of this Law and thereby infringes upon the rights and interests of another, the injured may demand the removal of such infringement, or if there is a likelihood of infringement, prevention may also be claimed. In addition, Article 31 states that any enterprise that violates any of the provisions of this Law and thereby infringes upon the rights and interests of another shall be liable for resulting damages.
If the infringement was intentional, at the time of filing a claim for damages, the injured party may request that the court take into consideration the nature of the infringement and award damages greater than the actual damages incurred but not exceeding three times the amount of proven damages. Where the infringing party gains from its act of infringement, the injured may request assessment of the damages based exclusively on the monetary gain to such infringing party. No claim for damages will be allowed unless the right is exercised within two years after the claimant becomes aware of the act and the person liable for the damages; nor will a claim be allowed after a lapse of ten years from the time of the infringing conduct. In filing a suit with a court in accordance with this Law, the injured may request the content of the judgment to be published in a newspaper at the expense of the infringing party.

Relevant article of law: Fair Trade Law, Articles 30,31

1. The meaning of “administrative settlement”
   The rendering of dispositions is the most familiar measure by which administrative agencies exercise public power in carrying out their administrative functions. Another measure also at their disposal is entering into administrative contracts with the regulated firms or persons. Such contracts are provided for in Article 135 of the Administrative Procedure Law: “In public law, legal relationships may be created, amended, or extinguished through contracts. However, this does not apply to legal relationships which by nature or by law or regulation may not be the subject matter of contracts.”
   Administrative contracts are divided into two categories: “settlement contracts” and “mutual obligation contracts,” under Articles 136 and 137 of the Administrative Procedure Law. “Administrative settlements” as discussed here fall into the category of “settlement contracts” under Article 136.
2. Conditions for application of, and legal effect of, administrative settlement
   Article 136 of the Administrative Procedure Law provides that “Where an administrative agency remains unable, after ex-officio investigation, to determine any fact or legal relationship on which an administrative disposition depends, it may, for purposes of effectively accomplishing administrative objectives, and resolving disputes, settle with or enter into administrative contracts with persons, as a substitute for an administrative disposition.” The above provisions make it clear that the purpose of administrative settlement is to resolve indeterminacies of fact or legal relationship. The condition for application is that the administrative agency has performed an ex-officio investigation and remains unable to determine some fact or legal relationship on which an administrative disposition depends. As for legal effect, it has the effect of being binding upon both parties to the contract.
3. Feasibility of adoption of administrative settlement by the Fair Trade Commission
   Since the Fair Trade Commission began implementing the Fair Trade Law, it has often, as market situations have changed with the times, had to handle complex anti-competitive behavior with very limited manpower and resources. Collection of evidence of violations is often impeded because subjects of investigations are transnational enterprises, further adding to the Fair Trade Commission's difficulties in disposing of cases. Therefore, in the interest of effectively dealing with individual cases and expeditiously resolving disputes over the rights and interests of complainants and respondents, if in a specific case the Commission remains unable to determine salient evidence after considerable investigation, the Commission may duly resolve the matter by means of an “administrative settlement” contract.