Fair Trade Commission sanctions Samsung Welstory for unfair support allegations... Two-day plenary session

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will hold a plenary session for two days to decide the level of sanctions regarding allegations that Samsung Group unfairly allocated cafeteria contracts to Samsung Welstory.

According to industry sources on the 2nd, the FTC will hold a plenary session for two days around the 26th, and determine the level of sanctions after considering the opinions of the FTC Secretariat and major Samsung affiliates under investigation.

The plenary session, usually held on Wednesdays, involves nine members including the FTC Chairman. Unless otherwise agreed, it typically concludes in one day. However, in this Samsung case, due to the large number of affiliates subject to sanctions and the variety of issues involved, the session will be held over two consecutive days.

So far, the FTC Secretariat has been investigating since 2018 whether Samsung Group unfairly supported Samsung Welstory, a catering company. Samsung Welstory was established by spinning off the catering and food distribution division of Samsung Everland in 2013, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung C&T, in which the Samsung family, including Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics, holds significant shares. The FTC believes that Samsung Welstory expanded its business by receiving internal contracts from Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, and others through non-competitive contracts.

Meanwhile, last month, Samsung Electronics and seven other companies held a "Group Catering Contract Opening Ceremony" and decided to switch the cafeteria contracts, which had been awarded to group affiliates through non-competitive contracts, to a competitive bidding system. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics entrusted two cafeterias at its Suwon and Giheung campuses to Shinsegae Food and Pulmuone Food & Culture instead of Samsung Welstory. However, the FTC considers that such actions do not meet the criteria for a reduction in fines.

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