The head of the country’s antitrust watchdog said Thursday that he will push to expand consumers' ability to file class action lawsuits against large companies.

In a speech to mark the 30th anniversary of the Korea Consumer Agency, Fair Trade Commission Commission(FTC) Chairman Kim Sang-jo said there should be a stronger institutional basis to protect consumers.

Collective or class action lawsuits generally require the company at the losing end to pay compensation not only to the plaintiff, but to others who have been affected, even if they were not directly involved in filing the suit.

Kim told lawmakers earlier this month he would like to expand class action litigation beyond brokerages into other sectors of the economy.