Fair Trade Commission "Apartment Automatic Fire Detector Bid Rigging Detected...Penalty of 10.381 Billion KRW"

'Drawing Lots and Ladder Game' Used to Decide Successful Bidders
301 out of 305 Cases Awarded as Agreed

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 4th that it has decided to impose corrective orders (prohibition of future acts) and a total fine of 10.381 billion KRW on 23 fire electrical construction companies that colluded in advance to designate successful bidders and dummy businesses while participating in bids for fire electrical construction such as automated fire detection systems, which are mandatory installations in apartment and other construction projects.

Johnson Controls International Korea, GFS, Siemens, Olight Life, Safe System, Wooseok Electronic System, Protech, CNGS, Saesol Fire Prevention, Samsung Fire Prevention, HiMax, OCS Engineering, Oseong Fire, K-Tel, RTL Industry, Well System, GS Fire Prevention, SM Tech, Donghae & F, Jinseong Fire Prevention, Sinhwa Fire Prevention, Sinhwa Comprehensive Fire, and Woochang High Tech ? these 23 companies colluded with 13 construction companies including GS Construction in a total of 304 fire electrical construction contractor selection bids conducted from May 2011 to November 2017.

The 23 fire electrical construction companies, registered as partners of the 13 construction companies, prearranged the order of successful bidders for the 304 bids by drawing lots and ladder games, deciding the successful bidders and dummy businesses for each bid. Among the 304 cases subject to collusion, these 23 companies won 301 cases as originally agreed.

Accordingly, the Fair Trade Commission imposed corrective orders (prohibition of future acts) on all 23 companies including Johnson Controls International Korea, and decided to impose a total fine of 10.381 billion KRW (tentative) on 22 companies excluding Woochang High Tech, which underwent rehabilitation procedures.

A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "The FTC has detected and sanctioned collusion that was secretly conducted over about seven years among businesses in bids ordered by private construction companies, and this is expected to serve as a warning against collusion practices in the private construction sector bidding market." He added, "The FTC will continue to strengthen monitoring of bid collusion that causes cost increases in the private sector and will respond strictly if such acts are detected."

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