An executive at HD Hyundai Oilbank accused of colluding on oil prices was arrested on the 18th.
Boo Dong-sik, the warrant-judging Director General at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant after holding a pretrial detention hearing for a warrant for a suspect (substantive warrant review) for Kim, an executive in the pricing department at HD Hyundai Oilbank, saying there were concerns about destruction of evidence.
For Kim, an employee in the same department who underwent the warrant review together, the court rejected the warrant, saying the showing was insufficient that there were concerns about destruction of evidence or flight risk in light of the suspect's position, role, and the status of the investigation.
The Fair Trade Investigation Department at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Director General Na Hee-seok) is investigating allegations involving four major refiners—SK Energy, GS Caltex, S-Oil, and HD Hyundai Oilbank—of colluding on oil prices. The four companies are suspected of conspiring, through advance consultations, to arbitrarily raise or freeze prices of oil and petroleum products distributed domestically.
The investigation gathered pace after President Lee Jae-myung in Mar. ordered strict punishment, saying, "Collusive price manipulation is a serious crime against the public." Prosecutors suspect that planned collusion by refiners was behind the across-the-board surge in oil prices immediately after the outbreak of the Iran war.
On Mar. 23, prosecutors launched a compulsory investigation by conducting raids on the refiners and the Korea Petroleum Association.