SeAH Besteel Appeals First Trial Fine for 'Fair Trade Commission Investigation Obstruction'... Both Parties File Appeals

1st Trial Court: "Acts Interfering with Investigation Confirmed but Evidence Insufficient"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] Steel company SeAH Besteel and the prosecution both appealed after SeAH Besteel was fined in the first trial for obstructing an on-site investigation by the Fair Trade Commission.

According to the court on the 17th, SeAH Besteel and the prosecution submitted appeals to the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Han Kyunghwan) the day before.

Earlier, the first trial court on the 10th sentenced SeAH Besteel corporation and employee Lim (49), who were indicted for violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, to fines of 30 million won and 10 million won respectively. Two other employees tried for the same charges were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

The first trial court stated, "The act of hiding and destroying work notebooks and diaries provided by the defendant company constitutes obstruction of investigation," and added, "If obstruction of investigation succeeds as a means to conceal unfair joint activities, large fines can be avoided, so strict sentencing is necessary."

It further explained the ruling by saying, "There is insufficient evidence to consider that the defendant's actions concealed the company's collusion, and it is difficult to see that there was large-scale organized hiding or destruction of materials."

The corporation and Lim were indicted for shredding work notebooks and diaries, hiding related documents, and obstructing the investigation when the Fair Trade Commission conducted an on-site visit in May 2020 to investigate possible collusion in steel scrap purchase prices.

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