President Lee Publicly Praises Prosecutors for Indicting Companies Colluding on Flour and Sugar Prices

"The prosecution achieved significant results...
Good work should be acknowledged and praised"

President Lee Jaemyung publicly praised prosecutors for indicting a large number of companies that colluded on the prices of products such as flour and sugar, leading to price increases.

Yonhap News Agency

On February 2, President Lee shared an article on X detailing the prosecution’s announcement that 52 individuals, including officials from flour milling companies, sugar manufacturers, and bidders for Korea Strategic Procurement, had been indicted for colluding on essential goods, resulting in a 10 trillion won price-fixing scheme. He wrote, "The prosecution has achieved a significant result."

President Lee added, "I have shared this at the Cabinet meeting and ordered necessary measures, including institutional improvements such as revising the statutory penalty ceiling, recovering unjust profits from colluding companies, and restoring prices that were unfairly raised. I hope good work will be acknowledged and commended."

In September of last year, during a Cabinet meeting, President Lee had mentioned the possibility of price collusion among companies as a factor in rising prices of daily necessities and called on government ministries to take proactive action.