Ice Cream Industry Faces Fair Trade Commission's 'Hammer' for Collusion... "Will Review and Respond"

Fair Trade Commission imposes fines totaling 135.045 billion KRW on Binggrae and Big 4 ice cream companies

Binggrae "Regretful, will review legal grounds and respond"
Haitai Confectionery "Will decide response after reviewing resolution"
Lotte Food & Lotte Confectionery "Doing our best to prevent recurrence"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Major ice cream manufacturers and sellers such as Lotte, Binggrae, and Haitai are unable to hide their embarrassment as they face sanctions from the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for colluding on sales and supply prices.

On the 17th, the FTC announced that it would impose corrective orders and a total fine of 135.045 billion KRW on five ice cream manufacturers and sellers, including Lotte Holdings, Lotte Confectionery, Lotte Foods, Binggrae, and Haitai Confectionery & Foods, for violating the Fair Trade Act. The tentative fines by company are ▲Lotte Confectionery 24.4 billion KRW ▲Lotte Foods 23.7 billion KRW ▲Lotte Holdings 23.6 billion KRW ▲Binggrae 38.8 billion KRW ▲Haitai Confectionery & Foods 24.4 billion KRW.

The FTC judged that four companies excluding Lotte Holdings (during the collusion period, Lotte Confectionery was split into Lotte Holdings and Lotte Confectionery) agreed in advance and executed the collusion on ice cream sales and supply prices and division of retail store clients from February 15, 2016, to October 1, 2019. These companies hold about 85% market share in the domestic ice cream market.

In 2007, the FTC also imposed a total fine of 4.51 billion KRW on four companies including Binggrae, Lotte Confectionery, Lotte Samkang, and Haitai Confectionery & Foods for collusion on ice cream product prices.

Binggrae expressed regret regarding the FTC’s decision and hinted at legal action. A Binggrae official said, “We provided explanations throughout the investigation and review process, but we regret this decision,” adding, “We will carefully review the legal aspects and respond accordingly.” Haitai Confectionery also stated through a public disclosure, “We plan to carefully review the FTC’s resolution document before deciding on our response.” Lotte Confectionery and Lotte Foods also stated they will “do their best to prevent recurrence.”

Meanwhile, the FTC plans to refer Binggrae and Lotte Foods to the prosecution for uncooperative behavior during the investigation and violation of the law. If prosecution follows, these companies are likely to face investigations for violations of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act in the future.

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