Namyang Dairy Products Loses Lawsuit to Cancel Fine

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Namyang Dairy Products, which was fined by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for lending money at low interest rates to obstetrics and gynecology hospitals and postpartum care centers while selling its own formula milk, lost its appeal lawsuit.

On the 2nd, the Administrative Division 7 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Daewoong, Lee Byunghui, and Jung Sujin) ruled against Namyang Dairy Products in the lawsuit seeking cancellation of the corrective order filed against the FTC.

After the verdict, Namyang Dairy Products stated, "We respect the court's decision and will make every effort to comply with the Fair Trade Act in the future."

Previously, Namyang Dairy Products was imposed a corrective order and a fine of 144 million KRW by the FTC in 2021 for violating the Fair Trade Act.

The FTC determined that from August 2016 to September 2018, Namyang Dairy Products lent a total of 14.36 billion KRW to 25 obstetrics and gynecology hospitals and postpartum care centers at an annual interest rate of 2.5?3.0%, which was lower than the market interest rate at the time.

Among the 25 obstetrics and gynecology hospitals and postpartum care centers that borrowed money at low interest rates, 22 were found to have used only Namyang Dairy Products' formula milk.