Prosecutors moved to detain executives and employees of companies suspected of long-running collusion in bids for equipment ordered by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
According to legal sources on the 17th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Fair Trade Investigation Division (Director General Na Hee-seok) sought arrest warrants on the 15th for five executives and employees at power equipment manufacturers, including LS ELECTRIC and ILJIN Electric, on charges of violating the Fair Trade Act.
Prosecutors suspect the companies agreed in advance to allocate volumes in KEPCO's gas-insulated switchgear purchase bids from 2015 to 2022 and then won the contracts in turn. The bids in question were reported as open competitive tenders and region-restricted tenders worth about 560 billion won.
Prosecutors are currently investigating on the view that the collusion raised award prices, leading to consumer harm such as higher electricity rates.
Gas-insulated switchgear is installed at power plants or substations to quickly cut excessive current and protect power facilities.
Earlier, the Fair Trade Commission issued corrective orders and imposed a total penalty surcharge of 39.1 billion won in connection with the case, and reported six companies, including Hyosung Heavy Industries, to prosecutors.
Prosecutors launched full-fledged investigations with searches and seizures of related companies in Oct. and sought the arrest warrants this time.