"Apology for Collusion"... Presidents of 7 Flour Milling Companies Resign from Korea Flour Mills Industrial Association Board

"Great Disappointment and Concern to the Public... Time for Self-Reflection"
Fines Expected to Reach Up to 1.2 Trillion Won

Yonhap News

The Korea Flour Mills Industrial Association announced on March 5 that all members of its board of directors have decided to resign in connection with allegations of price collusion in the domestic flour milling industry.

The association held its annual general meeting that morning and, taking responsibility for the price-fixing incident, decided that all CEOs of the member milling companies would step down from the board to take a period of self-reflection.

The association stated, "We deeply apologize for having caused great disappointment and concern to the public due to the flour price collusion in the domestic milling industry. Feeling a deep sense of responsibility, the entire board of directors has decided to resign."

It continued, "This decision is a measure to express the industry's sense of responsibility following the Korea Fair Trade Commission's investigation, and to sincerely apologize to the public for causing significant disappointment and concern. Accordingly, the president, vice president, and all board members of the Korea Flour Mills Industrial Association, who are also CEOs of major domestic milling companies, will immediately step down from their board positions."

The association's seven member companies are Daehan Flour Mills, Sajo DongA One, Daesun Flour Mills, Samyang, CJ CheilJedang, Samhwa Mills, and Hantap.

Earlier, the Korea Fair Trade Commission announced on February 20 that it would bring the case to a full commission hearing, as the seven flour milling companies are suspected of repeatedly conspiring to fix flour sales prices and allocate sales volumes in the domestic business-to-business (B2B) market from November 2019 to October last year.

If the companies are found to have engaged in collusion, the Fair Trade Commission can impose fines of up to 20% of the related sales revenue. The total amount of fines could reach as much as 1.2 trillion won, according to projections. Additionally, the commission is considering an order to re-determine prices.

An association representative stated, "The CEOs of the flour milling companies served as non-standing ex officio directors of the association. Since all have resigned, the composition of the board will be decided through future discussions. However, this does not mean that the association will be dissolved."

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