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South Korea Targets 4 Firms in Starch Sugar Price-Fixing Cartel Probe

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission has concluded a six-month probe, finding four companies colluded to fix starch sugar prices from May 2018 to October 2025. The implicated firms are Daesang, SajoCPK, Samyang, and CJ Cheiljedang, with the alleged cartel affecting an estimated 6.2 trillion won in revenue. The FTC is now reviewing possible penalties, including fines and corrective orders, and continues to target other collusion cases in flour and sugar. Simultaneously, the regulator is escalating monitoring of gas stations for potential price gouging amid rising fuel costs linked to Middle East conflicts.

Key Points: S. Korea Mulls Penalties for 4 Firms in Sugar Price-Fixing Case

  • 6-month probe concludes price-fixing cartel
  • Four major food companies implicated
  • $4.2 billion in revenue affected
  • FTC also monitoring gas station price gouging
2 min read

S. Korea mulls penalty for 4 firms in alleged starch sugar price-fixing case

South Korea's FTC reviews penalties for four companies accused of colluding on starch sugar prices for over 7 years, affecting $4.2B in revenue.

"We will mobilise all of our regional offices to check for possible collusion of gas stations - Fair Trade Commission"

Seoul, March 6

The antitrust regulator said on Friday it has begun reviewing possible penalties for four companies that allegedly colluded to set prices of sweeteners for more than seven years.

Inspectors at the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) have wrapped up their six-month probe into the case and concluded that the companies formed a cartel to fix prices of starch sugar products from May 2018 to October 2025, according to FTC officials.

The companies are Daesang, SajoCPK, Samyang and CJ Cheiljedang, reports Yonhap news agency.

The inspectors estimated a combined 6.2 trillion won ($4.2 billion) worth of revenue of the companies was affected by their unfair practice, proposing the FTC slap fines on the companies and issue corrective orders, including price adjustment.

The FTC can impose a fine of up to 20 percent of the relevant sales affected by collusive conduct under relevant laws.

The FTC said it has begun a review of the investigation report to swiftly reach a final conclusion on the case and has also sent the report to the companies to help them exercise their defensive rights.

The watchdog added it will continue its efforts to eradicate collusive practices to stabilise market prices and protect people's livelihoods.

Last month, the FTC began reviewing possible penalties for seven flour producers involved in an alleged collusion case.

In a separate case, it slapped a combined fine of 408 billion won on three major sugar manufacturers on suspicion of fixing prices.

Meanwhile, the state antitrust regulator said it will closely monitor possible price gouging practices of gas stations across the country and take necessary measures as fuel prices recently soared amid the military conflict in the Middle East.

"We will mobilise all of our regional offices to check for possible collusion of gas stations, particularly those with high fuel prices, and will launch on-site investigations immediately, depending on the monitoring results, for a comprehensive response," the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said in a press release.

The FTC's announcement comes as fuel prices sharply increased over the past few days despite no immediate disruptions reported to South Korea's oil supply from the escalating conflict in the Middle East sparked by U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
$4.2 billion affected by their unfair practice! That's a staggering amount. It shows how much extra consumers must have paid over the years. These companies need to be made an example of. Strict action will deter others.
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Priyanka N
From sugar to flour to fuel... it never ends, does it? 😐 While it's good to see action in South Korea, I wish our system was this swift and transparent. Here, such probes take years and the fines are often a small fraction of the illegal profit.
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Aman W
Interesting to see the global supply chain angle. Starch sugar is in so many processed foods. If prices are fixed at that level, it impacts everything downstream. Hope the corrective orders include proper compensation for smaller businesses that bought from them.
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Michael C
The article mentions they are also monitoring fuel prices due to the Middle East conflict. This is proactive. In India, we often see petrol pump prices shoot up instantly citing "global factors", but they are very slow to come down. More real-time monitoring is needed everywhere.
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Kavya N
A respectful criticism: While the intent is good, a six-month probe for a seven-year cartel? And the collusion period is listed until October *2025*? That's in the future. Seems like there might be a typo in the report or the process is still too slow to stop ongoing harm.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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