Employees of Hyosung Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Electric, suspected of colluding in bidding for equipment ordered by Korea Electric Power Corporation, have been arrested.
On the 12th, Nam Se-jin, a warrant-judge chief at the Seoul Central District Court, issued arrest warrants for a Hyosung Heavy Industries executive surnamed Choi and an HD Hyundai Electric Director General surnamed Jeong, who are suspected of violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. The court cited concerns about the destruction of evidence.
They are suspected of agreeing in advance to divide up quantities and then winning bids in turn in bidding for gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) worth 670 billion won ordered by Korea Electric Power Corporation from 2015 to 2022. GIS is a device that protects power facilities by quickly cutting off excessive current at power plants or substations.
Prosecutors believe the companies' collusion drove up KEPCO's bid prices, causing losses to KEPCO and leading to higher electricity rates.
Earlier, in Oct. last year, prosecutors raided Hyosung Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Electric, and other power equipment manufacturers and producers linked to the suspected bid rigging.
On the 15th of last month, prosecutors sought arrest warrants for five employees of power equipment companies, including LS ELECTRIC and ILJIN Electric; two were arrested and indicted first, and additional investigations into the remaining officials are underway.
Meanwhile, the investigation began when the Korea Fair Trade Commission, at the end of 2024, imposed a 39.1 billion won penalty surcharge on 10 companies involved in the GIS bid rigging and referred six business operators—Hyosung Heavy Industries, LS ELECTRIC, HD Hyundai Electric, ILJIN Electric, Cheryong Electric, and the Korea Heavy Electric Machinery Business Cooperative—to prosecutors.