South Korea's antitrust regulator plans to take stern actions against unfair business activities by online platform operators in a bid to protect small merchants and consumers, its chief said Monday.

Concerns have mounted that powerful online platform operators, such as Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp., have abused their dominant market status and engaged in unfair business practices against contractors, posing a threat to the survival of small merchants.

"The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will take stern measures against online platform operators' activities that could sap competition and innovation," Joh Sung-wook, chief of the regulator, said in her message for the new year.

She said online platforms have provided new business opportunities for small merchants during the non-contact consumption trend, but unfair business practices have also increased, incurring damage on consumers.

Joh stressed the need to speed up the legislation of a new bill aimed at regulating online platforms' unfair business activities.

Under the bill submitted by the FTC, online platforms will be fined heavily if they conduct abusive or illegal business activities against contractors registered as sellers.

The regulator is also investigating alleged unjust business practices by Kakao Mobility Corp., the country's leading taxi-hailing firm, and e-commerce giant Coupang.

Groups of taxi firms asked the FTC in 2020 to investigate allegations that Kakao Mobility deliberately gives priority to taxis affiliated with the firm when a customer hails a taxi with the Kakao T application.

The FTC is looking into allegations Coupang abused its search algorithms so its own brand products were placed on the top of its website and mobile platform. (Yonhap)