 |
| ▲ The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul (Yonhap) |
furniture companies-indictment
8 furniture firms, 12 officials indicted for alleged price-fixing
SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors indicted eight furniture companies and 12 of their former and incumbent officials Thursday on charges of colluding to rig biddings for built-in furniture worth about 2.3 trillion won (US$1.7 billion) for nearly a decade.
Among those indicted by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office were major furniture maker Hanssem Group and its former chairman Choi Yang-ha, as well as Enex Co., Nexis Co. and three major shareholders.
The companies allegedly colluded to fix the final bidders and the bidding prices on a total of 783 contracts put forth by construction firms for built-in furniture to be installed in new apartment complexes from early 2014 to late 2022.
The alleged collusion allowed the companies to supply furniture at overcharged prices, with the value of the affected biddings reaching more than 2.3 trillion won, according to prosecutors.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
