Four companies that manufacture and sell stainless steel wire products were fined for colluding to increase product prices.
The Fair Trade Commission noted on the 20th, "DSR, Manho Rope & Wire, SeAh Metal, and Hankuk Steel Wire were found to have colluded to raise the prices of stainless steel wire products from September 2020 to February 2022," adding, "We decided to impose a penalty surcharge of approximately 3.4 billion won along with corrective measures."
Stainless steel is an alloy made by adding other metals such as chromium and nickel to iron in order to prevent rusting. It is used in various fields in forms such as springs, bolts and nuts, screws, and welding rods for automotive parts, household appliances, home and kitchen products, and plumbing.
The four companies agreed to raise the product prices in line with the timing and extent of the increase in raw material costs, deciding not to compete on prices after the costs of the raw materials necessary for manufacturing stainless steel wire products rose.
They agreed to raise the prices of 300 stainless steel products a total of seven times through meetings from September 2020 to February 2022, and notified their customers of the price increases individually.
As a result, the selling price of stainless steel products increased by 1,650 won to 1,800 won per kilogram based on the amounts notified in the documents, rising by 31% to 40% compared to before the collusion.
This action is an additional case where the Fair Trade Commission detected collusion among steel product processing companies following the collusion on steel wire prices and bidding for wire rope purchases.
The Fair Trade Commission stated, "It is significant in that we have strictly sanctioned price collusion that took advantage of fluctuations in raw material costs." They added, "We plan to strengthen monitoring of collusion on intermediate products, which have a large ripple effect across the industry, and take strict measures if violations of the law are detected."