3 firms fined 233 mln won for price fixing over steel plate transportation

SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's antitrust regulator said Monday it has decided to impose a combined 233 million won (US$195,800) in fines on three companies for colluding to fix bidding prices over the transport of steel plates.

Dongbang and two other firms colluded to fix their quotations between 2016 and 2018 for bids on thick plates by the country's largest steelmaker POSCO, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).

Prior to the bidding, the companies colluded to divide the sections over which they will transport the plates and fix the bidding prices. The move helped them log a combined 5.4 billion won in revenue.

The FTC said it will closely monitor the situation to prevent similar price collusion from occurring in the transport market.