‘Bid fixing’ for 12 years with Hyundai and Kia Motors… A penalty of 82.4 billion won
[앵커]
Four auto parts makers were caught colliding for the past 12 years to win bids from Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors, resulting in a fine of tens of billions of won.
These four companies have been monopolizing to the extent that the domestic market share of specific parts exceeds 99%.
This is reporter Kim Ji-soo.
[기자]
It is a rubber product that is installed on the windshield or door of a car to prevent the inflow of outside noise and rainwater.
Glasoon and Weatherstrip are parts, and in Korea, 4 manufacturers, including Hwaseung, Dongil, Ayia, and Yuil, occupy 99.3% of the market.
As a result of the Fair Trade Commission’s survey, it was found that these four companies pre-fixed during the purchase bidding process conducted by Hyundai and Kia Motors from 2007 to 2018.
In order to avoid price competition and to secure stable sales volume, the company participated in the bidding after deciding the winning company, price, and discount rate in advance.
“In the case of developing unprecedented vehicle models such as Palisade and Seltos, there is no existing model supplier, so through a separate agreement, Hwaseung for Palisade and Ayia for Seltos are expected to be successful…”
As a result of participating in a total of 99 bids as agreed upon by these four companies, the success rate of collusion for which the pre-determined prospective bidder was successful reached 82%.
The Fair Trade Commission decided to impose a total penalty of 8,239 million won on these four companies with a corrective order.
The FTC plans to strengthen surveillance of collusion in the intermediary goods market, which reduces the competitiveness of the industry in the front and rear.
However, taking into account the difficulties of small and medium-sized companies that supply to Hyundai and Kia Motors, which are monopolized in Korea, and the scale of unfair profits, we decided not to file a criminal charge.
This is Yonhap News TV, Kim Ji-soo.
Yonhap News TV article inquiries and reports: katok/line jebo23
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