Prosecutors moved to detain employees of Hyosung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Electric on suspicion of collusion in bidding for equipment ordered by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
According to legal sources, on Jan. 8 the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sought arrest warrants for two employees of Hyosung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Electric.
They are accused of agreeing in advance to allocate volumes and taking turns winning bids in tenders for gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) ordered by Korea Electric Power Corporation from 2015 to 2022, totaling 670 billion won.
Earlier, in Oct. last year, prosecutors raided Hyosung Heavy Industries, Hyundai Electric, and other power equipment manufacturers and producers implicated in the alleged bid rigging. On the 15th of last month, they sought arrest warrants for five employees of power equipment firms including LS ELECTRIC and ILJIN Electric, and two of them were detained on the 22nd of the same month.
The investigation began at the end of last year when the Korea Fair Trade Commission imposed a 39.1 billion won penalty surcharge on these companies and filed a complaint with prosecutors against six business operators, including Hyosung Heavy Industries, LS ELECTRIC, HD Hyundai Electric, ILJIN Electric, Cheryong Electric, and the Korea Heavy Electrical Industry Cooperative.
The case began at the end of last year when the Korea Fair Trade Commission imposed a 39.1 billion won penalty surcharge on these companies and filed a complaint with prosecutors against six business operators, including Hyosung Heavy Industries, LS ELECTRIC, HD Hyundai Electric, ILJIN Electric, Cheryong Electric, and the Korea Heavy Electrical Industry Cooperative.