The Korea Fair Trade Commission paid a special reward of 15 million won to two employees who uncovered a 3.2 trillion won sugar cartel.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said on the 26th that it awarded a total of 32 million won in performance rewards to 14 employees who achieved exceptional results, including Deputy Director Jeong Mun-hong and Assistant Director Woo Byung-hun, who uncovered the sugar cartel of CJ CheilJedang, Samyang Corporation, and TS Corporation.
According to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), Deputy Director Jeong and Assistant Director Woo launched an investigation after finding that sugar distributed nationwide was rising in price to a similar level at a similar time. The investigation was reportedly led by Director Oh Haeng-rok of the Bureau of Corporate Transaction Defect Review, who in 2007 uncovered a large-scale sugar cartel (then head of the Manufacturing Cartel Division).
Um Jandi, head of the Corporate Group Management Division, Assistant Director Hwang Jeong-ae, Deputy Directors Kim Han-gyeol and Kim Jun-hoe, and Researcher Oh Eun-seong, who caught large corporate groups such as DB, Youngone, and HDC Holdings Co. omitting numerous affiliates over a long period, received a reward of 6 million won.
Deputy Director Min Ji-hyeon, Assistant Director Lee Seon-hee, Deputy Director Kim Jang-gwon, and Deputy Director Kim Min-jeong, who prepared measures to strengthen economic sanctions to curb unfair practices, received a reward of 6.5 million won. Jang Ju-yeon, head of the Market Structure Improvement Policy Division, Assistant Director Jeon Yong-ju, and Deputy Director Yun Ji-su, who focused on cracking down on market-disrupting conduct and contributed to stabilizing consumer prices, received a reward of 4.5 million won.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said, "We introduced a special performance reward system on the president's instruction to ensure bold compensation for civil servants who achieve outstanding results," adding, "We plan to award bonuses to employees who deliver exceptional results, such as pursuing policies with strong public resonance or uncovering serious unfair practices."