South Korean Petrochemical Firms Fined 111 Million Dollars for Price-Rigging

Posted 20 February 2007 @ 12:14 pm EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

SEOUL (AP) - South Korea's antitrust watchdog has fined 10 local petrochemical companies a total of 111 million dollars for rigging the prices of plastic products. The Fair Trade Commission accused the companies of having held monthly price-fixing meetings since 1994 on their polypropylene and high-density polyethylene products, mostly used for plastic containers and bottles.

The 10 companies were fined a total of 105.1 billion won (111.8 million dollars), it said. "They have been engaged in price-rigging for 11 years. Our action will help the local plastic industry strengthen its competitiveness," commission official Chung Jae-Chan told reporters. Top refiner SK Corp received the largest fine of 23.8 billion won, followed by Korea Petro Chemical with 21.2 billion won and LG Chemical with 13.1 billion won. The watchdog said five companies including SK Corp would also face a criminal investigation for allegedly playing a leading role in the price-rigging meetings.