'Carlson, Tile Korea, Eunkwangsa, Hyundai Telecom', Hyosung and Jinheung Enterprises Collude in Apartment Finishing Materials Purchase Bidding... Fined 480 Million KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Four companies?Carlson, Tile Korea, Eunkwangsa, and Hyundai Communication?were caught colluding in bids for apartment finishing materials, including tiles, commissioned by Hyosung and Jinheung Enterprise, by the Fair Trade Commission.

The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 12th that it decided to issue corrective orders to the four businesses that colluded in a total of 16 bids over 14 years from 2014 to 2017, and impose fines totaling 482 million KRW on three of the companies.

According to the Fair Trade Commission, the four companies including Carlson predetermined Carlson as the winning bidder before participating in each category of the 16 bids related to tiles, lighting, and home network purchases commissioned by Hyosung and others, and agreed on the bid prices so that Carlson would win. After setting Carlson’s bid price, the other companies agreed to submit higher bids as decoys.

Hyosung and others selected finishing materials and suppliers (spec-in) to operate model houses. Since spec-in products were mostly applied as is during the construction phase, spec-in companies were given priority in the final supplier selection. As a result, the businesses agreed to concede the winning bid to the spec-in companies and supply through the winning bidder, aiming to secure contracts without competition. Consequently, Carlson won all 16 bids.

The Fair Trade Commission judged that these businesses violated Article 19, Paragraph 1, Item 8 (bid rigging) of the Fair Trade Act, which prohibits unfair joint acts. Accordingly, the Commission issued corrective orders prohibiting illegal acts to Carlson and the other three companies, and imposed fines totaling 482 million KRW on three companies excluding Tile Korea. Carlson will be referred to the prosecution.

A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "This action is significant in that it strictly sanctioned businesses that colluded for years in the apartment finishing materials sector, which is closely related to the daily lives of the public," and added, "The Commission will continue to strengthen monitoring of bid rigging in sectors closely related to public life and will strictly sanction any collusion detected in accordance with laws and principles."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.