Prosecutors investigating the "sugar price-fixing allegations" have taken into custody the head of Samyang Corporation and a former executive of CJ CheilJedang.
According to legal sources on the 19th, the Seoul Central District Court issued arrest warrants sought by prosecutors for Samyang Corporation CEO Choi, who faces charges of violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, and Kim, a former senior executive who served as head of Food Korea at CJ CheilJedang, saying there is a concern about destruction of evidence.
However, the court rejected the warrant for Samyang Corporation Vice President Lee, for whom prosecutors had also sought detention, citing the need to guarantee the right to defense.
The Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Na Hee-seok) is investigating allegations that three of Korea's largest sugar companies—CJ CheilJedang, Samyang Corporation, and TS Corporation—colluded to raise sugar prices excessively. On the 27th of last month, prosecutors sought arrest warrants for four employees, including CJ CheilJedang Deputy Minister Park and Samyang Corporation Deputy Minister Lee, but the court rejected them, saying there was no concern about destruction of evidence or flight.
Prosecutors are expected to question Choi, who has been detained, and others about how sugar prices were coordinated and whether there were additional participants.