Six distributors that colluded to fix pork supply prices for six years and raised market prices by more than 20% have been brought to trial.
According to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office on Aug. 4, six distributors including Dodram Food that colluded on pork prices supplied to E-MART and 12 executives and employees were indicted on charges of violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act for the period from Aug. 2017 to Nov. 2023.
However, because the Fair Trade Act provision penalizing price information exchange took effect in Dec. 2021, the indictment covers only collusion that occurred after that.
Earlier, on Apr. 4, prosecutors exercised their authority to request a complaint to the Korea Fair Trade Commission, filed the complaint, and launched a compulsory investigation.
Prosecutors said that after three months they confirmed that all companies supplying pork to E-MART agreed on and set quotation prices and exchanged price information weekly.
Company representatives used a bidding tactic that inserted small differences so that supply prices would stay above a certain level, and from Nov. 2021 they created a Telegram group secret chat to align supply prices.
The total amount E-MART spent to purchase pork from these companies reached 1.2 trillion won.
Prosecutors said that when the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) conducted an on-site probe into the collusion allegations, executives and employees destroyed evidence, including messenger chat records. They also found indications that a legal team staffer was involved in deleting electronic data.
Prosecutors noted, "Before detection, collusion drove up big-box store retail prices by at least 20% over six years," adding, "We will actively respond to all types of fair trade crimes going forward."