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 charges. It is a different response from the usual pattern seen in criminal trials involving large corporations, of "complete denial → legal wrangling."
These corporations were previously caught colluding in 2007 and, after fighting the case up to the Supreme Court in 2011, received a finalized fine. Given that precedent, admitting the charges immediately at the first trial this time is seen as unusual. Legal sources say it reflects an awareness of President Lee Jae-myung's stance to respond strongly to price-fixing among corporations that adds to the public's burden.
According to legal sources on the 15th, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 5 single-judge panel (Presiding Judge Ryu Ji-mi) held the first trial on the 13th for the corporate entities of Samyang Corporation and CJ CheilJedang, along with 11 former and current employees. On that day, CJ CheilJedang's attorney said, "We admit all the charges and deeply reflect." Samyang Corporation's attorney also admitted most of the charges. However, some defendants said they deny the charges, noting differences in parts of the facts.
◇Lee: "Thorough response to price collusion"... burden on prosecutors' own investigation
This case is the first major criminal case indicted over alleged price collusion in the domestic sugar market. It is also unusual that prosecutors launched their own 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 prearranged the timing and scale 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 fully deny the charges and go on the defensive. But in this case, the defendants admitted the charges from the start of the trial. Legal circles reacted that "they realistically did not have many other options."
The backdrop is seen as the government's hard-line stance on inflation. President Lee Jae-myung, whose state philosophy is that "price stability is people's livelihood stability," said at a Cabinet meeting in Sep. last year that "we cannot rule out the possibility of collusion among companies in relation to the surge in prices of daily necessities," instructing relevant ministries to respond proactively.
Another factor is that the Korea Fair Trade Commission has been conducting a related investigation since Mar. 2024. The commission plans to put the alleged sugar price collusion 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 first-instance court. Whether to impose a penalty surcharge and other sanctions is decided there.
Back in 2007, three companies—CJ, Samyang Corporation, and TS Corporation—were fined a total of 51.1 billion won for the same charge. The case went up to the Supreme Court, and fines were finalized in 2011. It was a prolonged legal battle.
There is also analysis that, given the clear stance of the government and fair trade authorities, fighting the charges to the end could be a greater burden. A legal source said, "If you confront the government's policy head-on, public opinion and policy risks inevitably grow," adding, "For this reason, corporations reportedly showed a cooperative attitude from the early stages of the investigation."
◇TS Corporation breaks ranks through leniency... favorable sentencing strategy
There is also an assessment that TS Corporation's use of "leniency (the voluntary reporting reduction program)" influenced the situation. Leniency is a system that reduces or exempts punishment if a corporation involved in collusion voluntarily reports the collusion.
The case initially began as an allegation of sugar price collusion 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 price-agreement circumstances are revealed, making it difficult for the remaining corporations to deny the charges. Ultimately, with the investigation direction fixed by "one party's confession," there is analysis that, rather than contesting innocence, they made a strategic choice to admit the charges and secure favorable circumstances at sentencing.
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 go through procedures to confirm evidence on Feb. 12, and witness examinations are set for Mar. 9 and Apr. 9. The Samyang Corporation trial is scheduled for Mar. 26.