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Photo= Fair Trade Commission |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Another case of bid-rigging in the procurement of built-in special-order furniture by furniture manufacturers and retailers has been uncovered.
On Sunday, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced that it had imposed corrective orders and a total fine of 5.173 billion KRW on 13 furniture manufacturers and retailers for colluding in built-in special-order furniture procurement bids, in violation of the Fair Trade Act.
According to the KFTC, these companies allegedly colluded in 38 procurement bids issued by Bando Construction between January 2014 and March 2022 by prearranging winning bidders or sharing bid prices. Built-in special-order furniture refers to items such as kitchen cabinets and built-in wardrobes supplied to large-scale residential construction projects.
The investigation revealed that the companies agreed in advance on designated winners to prevent underbidding and shared price estimates to coordinate their submissions. This latest action follows the KFTC’s previous crackdown in April last year, when it fined 31 companies a total of 93.1 billion KRW for similar bid-rigging practices. Major firms such as Hanssem, Hyundai Livart, Enex, and Nex were once again listed among the penalized companies.
A KFTC official stated, "This bid-rigging scheme, involving total sales of approximately 94.9 billion KRW, is believed to have contributed to increased apartment pre-sale prices. We hope that these consecutive regulatory measures will serve as a turning point in eradicating chronic collusion practices in the furniture industry."
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
