Fair Trade Commission: "'Samil, Dongbang, Hanjin' Colluded on Steel Cargo Handling and Transportation Services... Fined 190 Million Won"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 25th that it has decided to impose corrective orders and a fine of 190 million KRW on three companies?Sam-il, Dongbang, and Hanjin?that colluded in three bids for the unloading and transportation services of imported steel materials at Pohang Port conducted by Hyundai Heavy Industries and two other companies in 2015.

According to the Fair Trade Commission, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, and POSCO P&S conducted bids to select service providers responsible for unloading and transporting steel materials imported through Pohang Port, which are necessary for shipbuilding and automobile manufacturing. During this process, the three companies?Sam-il, Dongbang, and Hanjin?colluded on the winning bidders and bid prices in those bids.

The selection of service providers for unloading and transportation of steel materials by Hyundai Heavy Industries and others was originally done through private contracts, but when the method changed to bidding in 2015, the three companies, including Sam-il, colluded in those bids.

A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "This action is significant in that it uncovered collusion that increased transportation costs for these companies in bids for unloading and transportation services of imported cargo, and aims to prevent such acts from recurring." The official added, "The Fair Trade Commission will continue to thoroughly prevent and monitor collusion that causes cost increases for companies, considering that such collusion can ultimately weaken the competitiveness of the involved companies."

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