Prosecutors have launched a compulsory investigation into five milling companies suspected of colluding on flour prices.
The Fair Trade Investigation Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Director General Na Hee-seok) has been conducting searches and seizures since the morning of the 11th at the headquarters of Daehan Flour Mills, CJ CheilJedang, and SAJODONGAONE, as well as on people connected to the case.
These companies and related individuals are suspected of violating the Fair Trade Act by colluding for years on the price of flour, a basic necessity. Prosecutors are examining whether they colluded over flour prices, the specifics of any agreements, and the structure of the price increases.
Earlier, the Fair Trade Commission conducted on-site inspections of seven milling companies in Oct. and has been investigating whether there was collusion. Prosecutors deemed the alleged flour price collusion a so-called "crime disrupting the ordinary economy" and opened a separate investigation apart from the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) process.
President Lee Jae-myung said at a senior secretaries' meeting on the 4th regarding prices, "Please thoroughly check whether there are cases of unfair collusion to raise prices and whether there are cases of unfairly taking profits by leveraging market monopoly power."
Prosecutors investigated the sugar price collusion case and last month indicted CJ CheilJedang and employees of Samyang Corporation.