17 Gangneung Ready-Mix Concrete Companies Colluded on Sales Volume Over 6 Years...1.3 Billion Won Fine

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunju Lee] It has been uncovered that ready-mixed concrete (remicon) companies in the Gangneung area of Gangwon Province agreed to equally divide the volume of remicon sales to private sector businesses such as construction companies.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission decided to impose corrective orders and a total fine of 1.282 billion KRW on 17 remicon manufacturers and sellers who colluded to equally distribute the volume of remicon sales in the Gangneung area of Gangwon Province over approximately six years, from May 2012 to June 2018.

Seventeen remicon companies, including Ssangyong Remicon, Dongyang, and Geumgang Remicon, were investigated to have started collusion to avoid cutthroat price competition and maintain appropriate sales after the number of new remicon companies increased, aiming to capitalize on the Olympic boom following the confirmation of hosting the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

They held meetings called "Choseokhoe," attended by each company's representatives and sales team leaders, where companies that distributed remicon volumes exceeding their pre-allocated amounts compensated those that fell short by a certain amount. Initially, only nine companies began colluding, but later eight more companies joined. During the collusion period, the combined market share of the 17 companies reached from 94.8% to 100%.

The Fair Trade Commission stated, "We plan to strengthen monitoring of collusion in intermediate goods with significant ripple effects across upstream and downstream industries, such as construction raw materials. Additionally, for items and industries where collusion frequently occurs, such as remicon, we will closely cooperate with related business organizations like the Korea Federation of SMEs to simultaneously pursue efforts to prevent collusion."