SEJONG– South Korea’s antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has decided to levy a combined fine of 5.33 billion won (US$4.1 million) on nine manufacturers of liquid carbon dioxide for price fixing.
Deokyang Co. and eight other companies colluded to fix their quotations between 2017 and 2019 for the bidding of liquid carbon dioxide that was put forward by shipbuilders, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).
Liquid carbon dioxide is widely used for various industrial purposes, ranging from the welding process for shipbuilding and automaking to being used as food additives to produce beer and carbonated drinks.
The collusion came as an industry-wide downturn in the shipbuilding sector shrank demand for liquid carbon dioxide, hurting their profitability.
The FTC said it will closely monitor similar price-fixing practices and take stern actions if it detects any anti-competition activities.
Source: Yonhap News Agency