SK Energy "Not an Admission of Guilt... Intended to Focus on Management"
SK Energy, indicted for gasoline price-fixing in California, USA, has reached a settlement with the state government for approximately 70 billion KRW.
SK Energy gas station. [Photo by SK Energy]
According to Bloomberg on the 10th (local time), the California Attorney General announced that SK Energy America and Dutch oil trading company Vitol, accused of gasoline price-fixing, have agreed to a settlement of 50 million USD (69.2 billion KRW).
SK Energy America and Vitol were indicted by the state government in 2020 on charges of colluding on gasoline prices for more than 10 million gallons (37.85 million liters) during the 2015 explosion accident at the ExxonMobil refinery located in Torrance, California.
It was viewed that they exploited the situation of the ExxonMobil refinery, which supplied over 10% of California's total gasoline, to gain unfair profits of about 150 million USD.
An SK Energy official explained, "This is not an admission of guilt, but a decision to proceed with the settlement due to the prolonged lawsuit's negative impact on management and litigation costs," adding, "The aim is to eliminate litigation risks early and focus on daily management."
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