Prosecutors conducted searches and seizures on the 15th at Hyosung Heavy Industries, LS ELECTRIC, and HD Hyundai Electric. These corporations are accused of colluding in bids totaling 560 billion won for equipment installations ordered by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) over eight years.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Fair Trade Investigation Division (Director General Na Hee-seok) said that on the morning of the day, it was searching and seizing six power equipment manufacturing and production corporations, one association office, and persons connected to the case on suspicion of participating in crimes that led to electricity rate increases.
Prosecutors believe they colluded in KEPCO's bids for gas-insulated switchgear to raise winning bid prices and secure volumes stably.
They are accused of agreeing in advance to allocate volumes and then taking turns winning in 134 open and region-restricted tenders totaling 560 billion won that KEPCO conducted from 2015 to 2022 to purchase gas-insulated switchgear. The average winning rate exceeded 96%.
Gas-insulated switchgear is installed at power plants or substations and quickly cuts off excessive current to protect power facilities.
Earlier, the Fair Trade Commission filed a criminal complaint last Dec. against six business operators, including large and mid-sized corporations such as Hyosung Heavy Industries, LS ELECTRIC, HD Hyundai Electric, and ILJIN Electric, as well as small and medium-sized enterprise Cheryong Electric and the Korea Electric Industry Cooperative.
The Fair Trade Commission also imposed corrective orders and a total penalty surcharge of 39.1 billion won on these business operators for suspected violations of the Fair Trade Act.