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(Photo = Yonhap news) |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] Thirty-one furniture companies, including Hanssem, Hyundai Livart and Enex, will be sanctioned by the Fair Trade Commission after they were found to have colluded in bids worth 2 trillion won in apartment and officetel built-in furniture construction.
The Fair Trade Commission said on the 7th that it has decided to impose a total of 93.1 billion won in fines on 31 furniture manufacturers and vendors along with a correction order.
According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission, the 31 companies colluded by agreeing on prospective bidders or sharing bidding prices in advance in the process of participating in a total of 738 special sale furniture purchases ordered by 24 construction companies for about 10 years from 2012 to 2022.
Special sale furniture is furniture installed in new apartments and officetels, such as sinks and built-in cabinets, and the cost is included in the cost of apartments and other apartments.
Before participating in the bidding, sales managers of each construction company agreed on the bidding price, including prospective bidders, best man participants, and bidding prices through meetings or wire contacts.
Afterwards, the agreed successful bidder delivered the estimate to the bridesmaid through e-mail and KakaoTalk, while the bridesmaid carried out the agreement by saying the same as the quote or partially raising the amount on the estimate.
The case is a long-term and chronic collusion across the country over a decade, with related sales reaching about 1.9457 trillion won. The FTC pointed out that "the collusion of these furniture companies is believed to have had some impact on the rise in the cost of apartments."
"The measure is a case of sanctioning bidding collusion for special sale households, which has been held extensively nationwide over a long period of time, which will serve as an opportunity to eradicate the chronic practice of collusion in the furniture industry," an FTC official said.
The FTC filed a complaint against eight furniture companies and 12 former and current executives and employees in April last year at the request of the prosecution, and criminal trials are currently underway.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
