Korea Shipping Association: "Fair Trade Commission Excludes Japan and Europe from Shipping Cartel Investigation... Reverse Discrimination"

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The shipping industry claims there is reverse discrimination as the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) omitted investigations into major Japanese and European shipping companies ahead of the review results on the freight rate collusion case involving domestic and international shipping companies.

According to the Korea Shipping Association on the 14th, the FTC excluded 20 overseas shipping companies, including Japan's NYK, K-LINE, MOL, Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, and France's CMA-CGM, from the shipping collusion investigation.

The Shipping Association explained, "The FTC conducted an intensive three-year investigation on a total of 23 companies, including 12 domestic and 11 overseas shipping companies, and issued a review report centered on imposing astronomical fines," but added, "However, the three major Japanese container shipping companies NYK, K-LINE, MOL, and 20 European shipping companies were not investigated."

They continued, "The total cargo volume carried by the three major Japanese container shipping companies NYK, K-LINE, MOL, Germany's Hapag-Lloyd, and France's CMA-CGM, totaling 20 companies, exceeds that of Korea's small and medium-sized domestic shipping companies," and added, "Nevertheless, they were omitted from the investigation, raising doubts about whether the FTC conducted a fair investigation."

At the plenary meeting on the 12th, the Shipping Association stated that witnesses and shipping company representatives raised issues that the omission of Japanese and European shipping companies from the investigation not only questions the fairness of the FTC but also constitutes reverse discrimination. The FTC examiners reportedly expressed that if there are issues, additional investigations would be conducted in the future.

The association said, "The FTC examiners maintain the position that joint actions by liner shipping companies operating on Southeast Asia routes are illegal due to insufficient consultation with cargo owners," and added, "Currently, there are no cases worldwide, including the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asian countries, requiring prior consultation with cargo owners."

They further claimed, "Despite the shipping industry having conducted prior consultations with cargo owners according to the Shipping Act, the FTC examiners persist in the position that the shipping joint actions are illegal due to insufficient consultation with cargo owners," and stated, "This exposes the backwardness of our country's examiners to the world."

Meanwhile, this conflict originated when the Korea Wood Plywood Distribution Association reported to the FTC that domestic shipping companies operating Southeast Asia routes imposed Emergency Cost Recovery Surcharges (ECRS), accusing them of 'unfair fee collection collusion' in 2018.

In May last year, the FTC prepared a review report stating that 12 domestic shipping companies and 11 overseas companies, including China's COSCO, SITC, and Denmark's Maersk, colluded on freight rates on the Korea-Southeast Asia route for 16 years from 2003 to 2018, and announced plans to impose fines. The maximum fine is estimated at around 800 billion KRW.

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