최근 국내에서는 일정 규모 이상의 온라인 플랫폼 사업자를 지정하고, 금지행위를 규정하는 방식의 사전규제적 독과점 규제 입법의 필요성에 대한 논란이 진행되고 있다. 본 논문에서는 일반 산업의 기업과 달리 온라인 플랫폼에만 특유하게 적용되는 독과점 규제의 필요성에 대해 다양한 관점에서 검토해 보았다. 플랫폼에 대한 경제학 이론 및 실증연구 결과는 규제가 필요하다는 시각 못지않게 규제가 필요지 않다는 반론도 다양하게 존재한다. 해외 규제당국 역시 개별 국가의 상황에 맞게 다양한 접근을 보여주고 있다. 국내 시장의 구조는 해외에 비해 경쟁이 활발하고, 이해관계자 등의 정책적 수요도 명확하다고 보기 어렵다, 플랫폼의 특성상 법 집행의 어려움은 어느 정도 있으나 그 자체가 사전규제 입법의 명분이 되기에는 부족하고, 부처 간 대립이나 국내 사업자 역차별 등에 대한 우려도 무시할 수 없다. 결과적으로, 적어도 현재 상황에서는 국내에서 온라인 플랫폼에 특유한 독과점 사전규제 입법이 필요한 논리적, 실질적 이유가 존재한다고 보기 어렵다는 것이 본 논문의 판단이다.

Recently, a debate has emerged in Korea regarding the necessity of ex-ante antitrust legislation specifically targeting online platforms that reach a certain scale, accompanied by specialized regulatory provisions. This is not the first attempt to introduce such regulations for platforms, as the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) previously sought to enact the Fair Online Platform Intermediary Transaction Act in 2021 to prevent the abuse of a superior bargaining position by platforms. However, this proposed bill faced strong opposition from companies and other government agencies, ultimately failing to be enacted. The recent debate, seemingly influenced by the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), prompted the KFTC to announce a plan to enact a new bill focusing on the abuse of dominance by online platforms. This study delves into the rationale behind such regulation in Korea from various perspectives. The findings can be summarized as follows: Firstly, while global consideration of this type of platform regulation exists, the outcomes vary from one country to another. It is evident that each country adopts a regulatory framework that aligns best with its market conditions and the level of activity by domestic platforms. Secondly, the extensive economic literature does not offer clear guidance for platform regulation, with theoretical and empirical counterarguments accompanying every argument for regulation. Thirdly, the market structure differs among platform services, but the market power of global Big-Techs is relatively limited in Korea, leading to skepticism regarding the commonly raised issue of 'platform monopolies.' Fourthly, the controversy surrounding platform regulation in Korea has primarily arisen in the P2B context rather than concerns about a lack of competition among platforms. Finally, challenges in enforcement must be addressed, including jurisdictional conflicts among government agencies, the need for a balance between regulation and industry promotion, and unintentional discrimination against domestic platforms. These findings indicate that, presently, there exists no compelling logical or practical grounds for the enactment of platform-specific antitrust legislation in Korea.