[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] All seven steel makers and 22 executives and employees who were put on trial for collusion worth 6 trillion won in bidding by the Public Procurement Service were convicted.

The Criminal Agreement Department 24 at the Seoul Central District Court on the 19th sentenced former Hyundai Steel sales head Kim, former sales head Ham, and Choi, former Bonggang business head of Dongkuk Steel, to 8∼ 10 months in prison and a fine of 20 million won on charges of violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act.

Kim and Ham, who were on trial without physical detention, were arrested in court. Choi was sentenced to prison while being arrested and charged.

The remaining 19 people were fined or sentenced to a fine or suspended prison term.

Hyundai Steel was fined 200 million won, Dongkuk Steel was fined 150 million won, and Daehan Steel, Korea Steel, YK Steel (Yamato Korea Holdings), Hwanyoung Steel Industry, and Korea Steel were fined 100 million won each.

The court found Kim and others guilty of most of the charges that limited competition by spying on the bid volume and bid price of each company in bidding for the annual unit price contract for steel bars ordered by the Public Procurement Service between August 2012 and March 2018.

They also judged that the size of the collusion was worth 6.8442 trillion won, as charged.

 

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