LG Hausys·Cosmo & Company Collude in Balcony Bidding for 'Heukseok 3 Redevelopment'... 600 Million KRW Fine Imposed

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 5th that it has decided to impose corrective orders and a total fine of 600 million KRW on LG Hausys and Cosmo & Company for agreeing in advance on the successful bidder and the cover bidder in the balcony window installation construction bid issued by the Heukseok 3 Housing Redevelopment Maintenance Project Association in January 2018.

According to the Fair Trade Commission, LG Hausys and Cosmo & Company agreed that Cosmo & Company would act as a cover bidder so that LG Hausys could win the bid for the balcony system window installation construction issued by the Heukseok 3 Redevelopment Association in January 2018.

Cosmo & Company, which accepted LG Hausys's request to participate in the bid, submitted a bid at a higher price than the expected bid price provided by LG Hausys, and eventually LG Hausys won the bid.

A Fair Trade Commission official stated, "It is significant that collusion in apartment construction bids, which are the most preferred housing by the public, has been detected and sanctioned. We expect this to contribute considerably to deterring similar collusion in the future." He added, "The Fair Trade Commission will continue to strengthen monitoring of bid collusion in areas closely related to citizens' lives and will strictly sanction any violations confirmed."