CJ CheilJedang Apologizes for Wheat Flour Price-Fixing, Vows to Regain Public Trust

Fair Trade Commission Imposes 671 Billion Won Fine on Seven Milling Companies

"CJ CheilJedang Withdraws from Milling Association, Pledges to Foster a Fair Food Industry Ecosystem"

The Fair Trade Commission has imposed a fine of approximately 670 billion won in connection with the wheat flour price-fixing case, and CJ CheilJedang has issued an apology, pledging to prevent a recurrence.

On May 20, CJ CheilJedang stated, "We deeply apologize for causing concern to the public," and added, "To fundamentally block any possibility of contact with competitors, we have withdrawn from the milling association. Moving forward, we will contribute to creating a fair food industry ecosystem and strive to regain the trust of the people."

Previously, in support of the government's price stabilization policy, CJ CheilJedang reduced the price of wheat flour for commercial use by 4% in January of this year. In February, the company further lowered prices for all commercial and consumer products by up to 6%.

On this day, the Fair Trade Commission announced that seven milling companies—Sajo DongA One, Daehan Flour Mills, CJ CheilJedang, Samyang Corporation, Daesun Flour Mills, Hantap, and Samhwa Flour Mills—colluded 24 times over a period of approximately six years, from November 2019 to October 2025, to fix wheat flour supply prices and volumes. The total sales related to this collusion were estimated at about 5.69 trillion won.

The Fair Trade Commission imposed corrective orders and a combined fine of 671.045 billion won on these companies. By company, Sajo DongA One received the largest fine at 183.097 billion won, followed by Daehan Flour Mills at 179.273 billion won, CJ CheilJedang at 131.701 billion won, and Samyang Corporation at 94.787 billion won, among others.

The Fair Trade Commission's investigation found that these companies quickly reflected increases in international wheat prices in their sales prices, but delayed lowering prices when costs went down, thereby maintaining profitability. It was also revealed that, even during the period in 2022 when the government provided subsidies to stabilize wheat flour prices, the companies discussed plans to raise prices.

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