Korea Electric Power Corporation has confirmed that it has filed a damage compensation lawsuit against 9 power equipment companies, including Hyosung Heavy Industries, LS ELECTRIC, HD Hyundai Electric, and ILJIN Electric, on charges of bid rigging for 170 kV (kilovolt) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS). GIS is a device installed in power plants or substations that quickly cuts off excessive current to protect the power system.
In December of last year, the Fair Trade Commission uncovered that 9 companies had colluded to the tune of 560 billion won in GIS bids ordered by KEPCO from 2015 to 2022. In response, KEPCO notified these companies of their restrictions on bidding participation on the 18th.
According to the power industry on the 27th, KEPCO filed a damage compensation claim for about 3 billion won against the 9 companies involved in the GIS bid rigging on the 22nd at the Eastern District Court of Seoul. KEPCO internally estimates the damage from this collusion to be 168.8 billion won.
The Fair Trade Commission has already reported five companies, including Hyosung Heavy Industries, LS ELECTRIC, HD Hyundai Electric, ILJIN Electric, and Cheryong Electric, to the prosecution. A KEPCO official noted, "We initially claimed 3 billion won to expedite the filing. We plan to expand the claim amount based on the court's appraisal results and the process of proving the damages."
These companies agreed on the volume distribution ratio between large and small enterprises, established the order of bidding winners, and shared bid prices. The companies involved secured a total of 134 bidding projects.
The Fair Trade Commission imposed a total penalty surcharge of 39.1 billion won on the 9 companies. The penalty surcharges per corporation are as follows: ▲ Hyosung Heavy Industries 11.2 billion won ▲ LS ELECTRIC 7.2 billion won ▲ HD Hyundai Electric 6.6 billion won ▲ ILJIN Electric 7.5 billion won ▲ Dongnam 2.1 billion won ▲ D2 1.1 billion won ▲ Seojeon Electric 800 million won ▲ Intec 400 million won ▲ Cheryong Electric 1.2 billion won.
These corporations filed for a suspension of the effect of the bidding participation restrictions imposed by the Fair Trade Commission and lawsuits to cancel the administrative sanctions. The Seoul Administrative Court recently accepted the stay application. An official from one company stated, "We have not yet received KEPCO's filing and plan to review the contents once we do."