Prosecutors asked the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to file complaints against executives and employees at four domestic food companies in connection with the starch sugar price-fixing case.
According to legal sources on the 27th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Fair Trade Investigation Department (Director General Na Hee-seok) exercised its authority to request complaints against four oligopolistic starch sugar companies—CJ CheilJedang, Daesang, Samyang, and Sajo CPK.
Starch sugar refers to sweeteners encompassing starch syrup, oligosaccharides, and fructose made from corn starch.
Earlier, on the 23rd of last month, prosecutors raided the four companies on suspicion of collusion over starch sugar prices. Then, on the 4th, they first exercised their authority to request complaints to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC). After questioning dozens of executives and employees, they exercised additional complaint-request authority with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for those with greater responsibility. A chief executive officer-level figure is said to be among them.
Under the Fair Trade Act, indictment for a collusion case is possible only if the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) files a complaint. If prosecutors exercise their complaint-request authority in connection with a Fair Trade Act violation, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is obligated to file a complaint.
Recently, prosecutors have been aggressively pursuing criminal liability not only for corporations but also for individuals in collusion cases. That is why a large number of former and current executives and employees at corporations implicated in the sugar and flour price-fixing cases, including CJ CheilJedang and Samyang Corporation, have been brought to trial.
Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice also said on his social media (SNS) last month, "To eradicate organized collusion, we must significantly strengthen criminal penalties for 'individuals,' such as executives and employees who planned and executed collusion and those behind them, as in the United States."