At the first trial held on the 13th, the head of Samyang Corporation and former and current employees of CJ CheilJedang indicted on suspicion of colluding to fix sugar prices admitted all the charges. It is a response different from the usual pattern in major-corporation criminal trials of "complete denial → legal wrangling."
These corporations were previously caught colluding in 2007 and, after fighting up to the Supreme Court in 2011, had fines finalized. Given that precedent, it is seen as unusual to admit the charges right away at the first trial as in this case. Legal sources interpret it as a decision mindful of the Lee Jae-myung administration's stance to respond firmly to corporate collusion that increases burdens on ordinary people.
According to legal sources on the 15th, the Criminal Division 5 Single-Judge Panel of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Ryu Ji-mi) held the first trial on the 13th for the corporations Samyang Corporation and CJ CheilJedang, and 11 former and current employees. On the day, the attorney for CJ CheilJedang said, "We admit all the charges and deeply regret them." The attorney for Samyang Corporation also admitted most of the charges. However, some defendants said parts of the factual circumstances differ and stated they deny those charges.
◇Lee: "Thorough response to price-fixing"... prosecution's independent probe also a burden
This case is the first large-scale criminal case indicted on suspicion of price-fixing in Korea's sugar market. It is also unusual that prosecutors launched an independent investigation without a complaint from the Korea Fair Trade Commission.
The Fair Trade Investigation Department of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Director General Na Hee-seok) viewed that these corporations pre-agreed on the timing and magnitude of sugar price increases and adjustments from Feb. 2021 to Apr. 2025. The collusion is estimated at about 3.2715 trillion won.
In criminal trials involving large corporations, the more room there is for legal dispute, the more often defendants go on the defensive by completely denying the charges. But in this case, defendants admitted the charges from the early stage of the trial. Legal sources reacted that "there realistically may not have been many other options for them."
The backdrop is seen as the government's hard-line stance on prices. President Lee Jae-myung, whose governing philosophy emphasizes that "price stability is people's livelihood stability," said at a Cabinet meeting in Sep. last year that "(regarding the sharp rise in prices of daily necessities) the possibility of collusion among companies cannot be ruled out," directing relevant ministries to respond actively.
It is also analyzed that the Korea Fair Trade Commission having conducted a related investigation since Mar. 2024 had an impact. The commission plans to put the suspected sugar price-fixing case on the agenda of the full commission meeting next month. The full commission is the KFTC's top decision-making body and corresponds to a court's first instance. Whether to impose a penalty surcharge and other sanctions is decided there.
Back in 2007, CJ, Samyang Corporation and TS Corporation were slapped with a total penalty surcharge of 51.1 billion won for the same charge. The case went up to the Supreme Court, and fines were finalized in 2011. It amounted to a prolonged legal battle.
There is also analysis that, with the government and fair trade authorities' stance clear, fighting the charges to the end could instead be a burden. A legal source said, "If you confront the government's stance head-on, public opinion and policy risks inevitably grow," adding, "For that reason, corporations are understood to have shown a cooperative attitude from the early stage of the investigation."
◇TS Corporation breaks ranks with leniency... favorable sentencing strategy
There is also an assessment that TS Corporation's application of "leniency (voluntary reporting reduction system)" influenced the case. Leniency is a system that reduces or exempts punishment when a corporation involved in collusion voluntarily reports the collusion.
Initially, this case began with suspicions of sugar price-fixing involving CJ CheilJedang, Samyang Corporation and TS Corporation. But TS Corporation reportedly applied for first priority leniency, and prosecutors accepted it. Prosecutors can exempt the first-priority leniency corporation from indictment.
Given the nature of collusion cases, when one corporation seeks leniency, much of the transaction structure and circumstances of price agreements become exposed, making it difficult for the remaining corporations to deny the charges. In the end, with the direction of the probe set by "one party's confession," there is analysis that it was a strategic choice to admit the charges and seek favorable circumstances in sentencing rather than fight for acquittal.
Meanwhile, considering that there are multiple defendants and some are in custody, the court plans to split the trials by corporation. Defendants related to CJ CheilJedang will undergo the evidence admission procedure on Feb. 12, with witness examinations scheduled for Mar. 9 and Apr. 9. The Samyang Corporation trial is scheduled for Mar. 26.