Fair Trade Commission Begins Sanctions on Supervisory Firms for Collusion Suspicions in 'LH Substandard Apartments'

Fair Trade Commission Recently Sent Review Report to LH
Investigating Allegations of 'Gapjil' by Construction Subcontractors

The Fair Trade Commission has officially begun sanction procedures against the supervision companies of Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH)'s 'Sunsal Apartment,' where rebar was omitted.

According to the construction industry on the 16th, the Fair Trade Commission recently sent review reports, equivalent to the prosecution's indictment, to about 10 LH apartment supervision companies this week. The review reports are known to contain opinions on imposing fines, corrective orders, and prosecution referrals against these companies.

Fair Trade Commission. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Fair Trade Commission has determined that these companies colluded by pre-arranging to increase the bid prices during the selection bidding process for supervision companies of various apartment construction projects ordered by LH.

The Fair Trade Commission is also investigating allegations that the contractors of LH apartments, where rebar omission was confirmed, abused their power over subcontractors. This investigation is expected to be completed within this year, after which the decision on sanctions and their severity will be made.

The collusion allegations against LH apartment supervision companies are also under the prosecution's investigation. Earlier this month, the prosecution conducted a search and seizure of architectural offices and other companies suspected of collusion in supervision and secured related materials.