Furniture Companies Accused of 2 Trillion Won Price-Fixing Admit Charges in First Trial

The major domestic furniture companies, indicted for bid-rigging in furniture contracts worth about 2.3 trillion won, admitted most of the charges in their first trial.

Seoul Central District Court.

On the 23rd, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-1 (Presiding Judges Park Jeong-gil, Park Jeong-je, Ji Gwi-yeon) held the first pretrial hearing for eight furniture companies including Hanssem, Hanssem Nexus, Neps, Enex, Nexis, Woami, Sun&L Interior, and Reverse.

The furniture companies stated, "We generally admit to the facts of the indictment," and said they would submit written opinions on parts of the individual charges that have not been confirmed. However, the side of former Hanssem Chairman Choi Yang-ha said, "We have not yet reviewed the investigation records and will clarify our specific position at the next hearing." The next pretrial hearing is scheduled for July 4.

Earlier, the prosecution indicted eight furniture company corporations and 12 executives including former Hanssem Chairman Choi Yang-ha without detention on charges of violating the Framework Act on the Construction Industry and the Fair Trade Act. Two sales staff who concealed and destroyed important evidence during the prosecution's search were summarily indicted on charges of evidence destruction and concealment.

They are accused of colluding to agree on the winning bidders and bid prices in bids for kitchen and general furniture construction at 783 nationwide apartment new construction sites ordered by 24 construction companies from January 2014 to December 2022. The scale of the bid-rigging is estimated to be about 2.3261 trillion won.

The prosecution found that they held prior meetings to agree on the order of winning bids, shared bid prices and estimates, and set up ‘dummy bids’ to induce the agreed company to win with the lowest price. The winning companies profited by installing built-in furniture at high supply prices in newly constructed apartments and officetels.

At the time of indictment, the prosecution pointed out, "Built-in furniture bid-rigging raises sale prices in the long term, making it difficult for ordinary citizens to achieve their ‘dream of owning a home.’ Illegal practices have been widespread in the industry, and the involved executives showed little sense of guilt." They added, "We indicted eight company CEOs or general executives, including three major shareholders, to hold senior officials accountable."

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