DotnetSoft and 11 Other Software Distributors Collude on Education Office Bids... Fair Trade Commission Imposes 456 Million KRW Fine

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Jusangdon] The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 8th that it has decided to impose corrective orders and a total fine of 456 million KRW on 12 companies, including Dotnetsoft, for colluding in bids for purchasing work software by education offices.

According to the Fair Trade Commission, 12 software distribution companies including Dotnetsoft, Seonghwa INT, Sonex, WiseCore, Wefo, UbiKernel, Izmain, Infomade, JIT, Core Information, POSTECH, and Head IT agreed in advance on the winning bidder, decoy bidders, and bid prices in 17 bids conducted by city and provincial education offices to purchase word processors and other software, and executed these agreements.

The 12 companies designated a business located in the education office's jurisdiction as the expected winning bidder for each bid and jointly decided the bid prices. As a result, they won all 17 bids.

A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "This action is significant in that it detected and sanctioned secret collusion in bids conducted by city and provincial education offices for purchasing work software and recovered unfair profits," adding, "The Fair Trade Commission currently receives bid information from 12 institutions including the Public Procurement Service for monitoring bid collusion, and plans to strengthen its monitoring capabilities by adding information providers such as Korea Railroad Corporation, Kangwon Land, KEPCO KDN, and SR in the future."

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