Fair Trade Commission: "Dongbang and Sebang Colluded in Special Equipment Lease Bidding... Corrective Orders and Fines Issued"

Pre-Agreement and Execution Between Prospective Winning Bidders and Dummy Bidders

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Dongbang and Sebang were sanctioned by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) for colluding in a special equipment lease bidding issued by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

On the 25th, the KFTC announced that it decided to impose corrective orders and a fine of 340 million KRW on Dongbang and Sebang for colluding in the 'special equipment lease bidding for ship block transportation' conducted by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

According to the KFTC, Dongbang and Sebang participated in three bids: the bid held on December 23, 2014, for selecting a special equipment lease operator for transporting ship blocks manufactured at the Yantai factory in China; and the bids held on January 26, 2016, and December 19, 2017, for selecting special equipment lease and entrusted operation operators for transporting ship blocks manufactured at domestic factories. They prearranged the winning bidder and the runner-up and jointly decided the bidding prices to ensure the agreement was realized.

Dongbang and Sebang agreed to designate Sebang as the winning bidder and Dongbang as the runner-up. They also agreed to split the equipment in a 1:1 ratio among the awarded quantities. Following the agreement, Sebang won the bid and then divided and supplied the equipment lease quantities accordingly.

A KFTC official stated, "The KFTC has continuously detected and sanctioned bid rigging in various transportation markets involving imported brown rice, agricultural products, and steel products. We expect this measure to contribute to eradicating collusion in the freight transportation market. Going forward, the KFTC will closely monitor collusive behavior in transportation bidding markets and impose strict sanctions according to the law if detected."

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