At the first trial of companies and executives indicted on charges of leading a collusion scheme worth about 670 billion won in equipment bids ordered by KEPCO, Hyosung Heavy Industries denied the allegations.
The Criminal Agreement Division 32 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Ryu Kyung-jin, Director General) on the 25th held the first hearing for eight companies, including Hyosung Heavy Industries, Hyundai Electric, LS Electric and Iljin Electric, and nine affiliated executives and employees indicted on charges of violating the Fair Trade Act.
According to the prosecution's indictment, from March 2015 to September 2022, in 145 bids for gas-insulated switchgear ordered by Korea Electric Power Corporation, they are accused of restricting competition by preselecting the winning company and setting the bid price in advance.
Prosecutors also say the companies divided the winning volumes in advance by company and shared bid price information so that bids would be awarded at high prices, carrying out collusion totaling 677.6 billion won and earning at least about 160 billion won in unjust gains.
Prosecutors further believe they divided the colluding participants based on industry status and market share into large companies such as ▲Hyosung Heavy Industries ▲Hyundai Electric ▲LS Electric ▲Iljin Electric and a group of small and midsize companies, set the proportions of bids to be won, and then allocated individual bid cases.
In this case, the eight companies were also brought to trial under the dual punishment provision that allows a company itself to be punished together if an employee's illegal act is recognized. In other words, not only individuals but also the corporation can bear separate criminal liability.
Hyosung Heavy Industries said at the hearing that it is "contesting the indictment," denying the allegations. The position is that there was no participation in collusion and no reason to participate.
By contrast, the remaining large-company group said they are reviewing the records and will state before the next hearing whether they admit or deny the charges. An admission or denial refers to whether the defendant acknowledges or disputes the charges in court.
Four small and midsize companies said they admit the basic facts of the indictment.
The court said it will hold a preparatory hearing on the 27th of next month to organize the evidence list and each defendant's position on admitting or denying the charges. A preparatory hearing is a procedure to sort out issues and evidence before full-fledged witness examination.
The court also said it will consolidate at the next date the case of the bid-rigging field manager separately indicted on the same charges so the same panel can hear it.