Bid Rigging for Urban Railway Sleepers by 'Taemyeong Silup·Jeil Industry'... Fair Trade Commission Issues Corrective Order and Imposes 242 Million KRW Fine

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Taemyeong Industrial and Jeil Industrial have been sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission for colluding in the bidding process for the purchase of sleepers for urban railroads.

The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 13th that it decided to impose corrective orders and a total fine of 242 million KRW on Taemyeong Industrial and Jeil Industrial.

According to the Fair Trade Commission, from June 2010 to July 2017, Taemyeong Industrial and Jeil Industrial prearranged the winning bidders, bid prices, and quantity allocation ratios in a total of seven bids for the purchase of sleepers for urban railroads ordered by Seoul Metro, and executed these agreements.

The two companies agreed to determine the expected winning bidder and bid price for each bid and participate accordingly, and in bids with large quantities, they also agreed to allocate some quantities as subcontracts.

Based on these agreements, out of the seven bids, Jeil Industrial won four, and Taemyeong Industrial won two. During the period of legal violation, the winning rate was 99.5%, which was 19 percentage points higher than the winning rate of 80.5% immediately after the collusion ended.

A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "This action was taken after additionally detecting and sanctioning collusion during the investigation of collusive practices in the bidding market for sleepers used in general and high-speed railroads. It is expected to serve as a warning against the widespread collusion practices in the railroad product market," and added, "We plan to continue focusing on monitoring collusive activities in areas related to public life and safety, such as railroad products."

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