Photo courtesy of Yonhap News

 

 

[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] South Korean prosecutors have launched a probe into alleged pork price-fixing involving suppliers to E-Mart.

According to legal sources on April 23, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office conducted search and seizure operations at nine meat processing companies on suspicion of violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. Targets include Dodram Food and Daesung Industrial, along with other firms identified as participants in the alleged cartel.

Previously, the Fair Trade Commission imposed fines totaling KRW 3.17 billion, finding that the companies colluded on pork supply prices to E-Mart.

The investigation found that several firms agreed in advance on bid prices for pork cuts such as pork belly and shoulder in multiple tenders for non-branded meat between November 2021 and February 2022. Additional coordination was also identified in branded meat pricing submissions between July 2021 and October 2023.

The total value of the alleged collusive transactions is estimated at around KRW 19 billion.

Prosecutors plan to analyze seized materials to determine the extent of coordination and the details of the alleged conspiracy.

 

 

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