This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz RM Report website at 9:39 a.m. on Oct. 16, 2025.
The Fair Trade Commission has launched on-site inspections targeting major domestic flour milling companies. Following its probe into sugar price collusion, the agency has drawn its sword on the flour industry as well, which is seen as zeroing in on the broader market for key materials and supplies behind the continued rise in bread prices—so-called breadflation (bread + inflation).
According to industry sources on the 16th, the Fair Trade Commission recently conducted on-site inspections of seven flour mills, including Daehan Flour Mills, CJ CheilJedang, SAJODONGAONE, Daesun Flour Mills, Samyang Corporation, Samhwa Flour Mills, and Hantop. The commission is said to be sending Researchers to each headquarters to closely examine whether there were unfair concerted actions such as price coordination or shipment adjustments.
This investigation is a follow-up to the probe into sugar industry collusion conducted in Mar. last year and is interpreted as part of a review of the overall market structure for baking materials and supplies. Earlier, the Fair Trade Commission carried out on-site inspections of sugar producers, including CJ CheilJedang, Samyang Corporation, and TS Corporation, over alleged sugar price collusion, and it is set to send its review report later this month.
The Fair Trade Commission believes flour prices also carry a high risk of collusion within an oligopolistic market structure. In fact, CJ CheilJedang, Daehan Flour Mills, and SAJODONGAONE account for more than about 70% of the domestic flour milling market. Fair Trade Commission Chair Ju Biung-ghi said at a recent Cabinet meeting, "The gap between international wheat prices and domestic flour prices has widened by more than 30% over the past four years," adding, "Given this difference, there is a need to examine structural problems within the market."
Industry sources also view the commission's investigation as aligned with the president's directive on "managing prices of daily necessities." President Lee Jae-myung said at a Cabinet meeting in late September, "Thoroughly check for any collusion in major food materials and supplies markets such as sugar and flour."
The "breadflation" phenomenon is also clearly reflected in the data. According to Statistics Korea, the bread price index in Aug. rose 6.5% from a year earlier. That is about four times the overall consumer price inflation rate (1.7%). Bread prices have posted gains in the 6% range for six consecutive months since Mar. this year, and domestic prices have rarely come down even after international grain prices stabilized. This is the backdrop for the Fair Trade Commission's successive reviews of major materials and supplies markets such as flour, sugar, and eggs.
Meanwhile, a report last year by Kongju National University's Industry-Academia Cooperation Foundation, commissioned by the Fair Trade Commission, showed that as of 2023, Korea's bread consumer price index stood at 129, higher than the United States (125), Japan (120), and France (118). The average bread price per 100 grams was also higher in Korea at 703 won, compared with France (609 won) and the United States (588 won).
A Fair Trade Commission official said, "We cannot confirm whether an investigation is underway or provide specific details."