Fair Trade Commission Imposes 670 Million KRW Fine
Eighteen ready-mix concrete manufacturers in the Cheonan·Asan area and the Cheonan Asan Ready-Mix Concrete Council have been sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission for price collusion.
The Fair Trade Commission announced on the 25th that it had detected their collusive act of jointly deciding the ready-mix concrete sales prices for small and medium construction companies and mutually allocating quantities, and decided to impose corrective orders along with a total fine of 670 million won.
According to the Fair Trade Commission, these 18 companies formed the council to share issues in the local ready-mix concrete industry and jointly respond to price negotiations with construction companies after their management conditions worsened due to rising prices of cement and other raw and subsidiary materials in the second half of 2020.
Through the council's resolution, the 18 companies decided around December 2020 to maintain the ready-mix concrete sales price level for small and medium construction companies in the Cheonan·Asan area at a discount rate of 88% or more compared to the standard unit price, and by mutually allocating ready-mix concrete sales quantities, each company was able to secure a certain volume stably.
From January to September 2021, under the council's leadership, they allocated suppliers of ready-mix concrete for each demand source through face-to-face meetings and group chats on messenger platforms. They agreed on sales prices and quantity allocations by having the assigned company conclude contracts with the demand source by offering estimates with higher discount rates than other companies assigned to the same demand source.
The Fair Trade Commission stated, "This action is significant in that it detected and corrected the collusive acts of ready-mix concrete manufacturers and sellers, who hold 100% market share in the Cheonan·Asan ready-mix concrete sales market, regarding sales prices and quantity allocations."
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