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Comparative Perspectives on
Platform Regulation in the EU and Korea

With the recent adoption of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, the European Union is a global frontrunner in the dynamic field of platform regulation. Similar regulatory initiatives are currently under discussion in many other jurisdictions, including the Republic of Korea. 

Building on earlier joint projects and co-operation between researchers from Osnabrück and Seoul, a group of researchers co-ordinated by Professor Christoph Busch (Osnabrück) and Professor Byung-Jun Lee (Seoul) will undertake a comparative analysis of the regulatory techniques for digital platforms in the EU and Korea in order to identify possible convergences and differences. In addition, the joint research group will explore the mutual influence and diffusion of regulatory models between the two jurisdictions.

In particular, the comparative analysis will focus on the following research questions: How and to what degree do regulators respond to platform power? What is the concept of platform power that serves as the basis for regulatory intervention? What legal and regulatory tools are used? How is the relationship between private and public enforcement? Are regulatory policies converging towards common characteristics? What are the factors determining divergences or convergences? 

The research group project will also examine to what extent the regulatory developments in the EU and Korea influence each other. In doing so, the project will consider various theoretical frameworks for regulatory globalization such as the “Brussels effect”, the concept of legal transplants and regulatory webs that facilitate formal and informal co-operation between institutions (e.g. European Commission, Korea Fair Trade Commission, Korea Legislation Research Institute, European Law Institute). 

The project is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

Project team:

Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch, Maître en Droit, University of Osnabrück (Co-ordinator)
Prof. Dr. Byung-Jun Lee, Korea University Seoul (Co-ordinator)
Prof. Dr. Seung Pil Choi, Hankuk University Seoul
Prof. Dr. Jens-Uwe Franck, LL.M. (Yale), University of Mannheim
Prof. Dr. Bernd Hartmann, LL.M. (Virginia), University of Osnabrück
Prof. Dr. Won-Jae Hwang, Keimyung University Daegu
Prof. Dr. Shindong Jun, Gangneung-Wonju National University Gangneug
Jun.-Prof. Dr. Katharina Kaesling, LL.M. (Collège d’Europe), University of Dresden
Prof. Dr. Sang-Jung Kim, Korea University Seoul
Prof. Dr. Jan Oster, LL.M. (Berkeley), University of Osnabrück