Seoul:South Korea's antitrust watchdog has initiated deliberations concerning two local oil refiners following allegations of unlawful information exchange and price rigging.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has received an examiners' report recommending fines and corrective orders against SK Energy Co. and HD Hyundai Oilbank Co. The report accuses these companies of colluding on the prices of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene by exchanging information.
The report details that the exchange of sales policy information between the two companies began shortly before the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022 and continued until March 2026, shortly after the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war. This alleged price rigging, which coincided with the Middle East crisis, affected sales estimated at 44.1 trillion won (approximately US$33.2 billion), or about 30 billion won daily.
The examiners assert that the practice of setting prices through information exchange unfairly restricted competition, in violation of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. Oh Hang-lok, director general of the FTC's cartel investigation bureau, highlighted that the two companies control more than half of the market and have a significant influence on competition.
The FTC plans to reach a final decision after allowing the companies eight weeks to submit written defenses. The examiners' report is not binding on the FTC's ultimate decision.
In 2025, SK Energy and HD Hyundai Oilbank held 28.1 percent and 21 percent, respectively, of the South Korean market for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene. The country's four oil refiners, including GS Caltex Corp. and S-Oil Corp., control 98 percent of the market.
SK Energy has stated that it is closely reviewing the report and intends to present a comprehensive explanation during the FTC's deliberations.