South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it has imposed fines totaling KRW 119 billion ($106 million) on six domestic steelmakers for fixing prices of rebar.
According to the commission, the domestic steel companies Hyundai Steel, Dongkuk Steel Mill, KISCO, YK Steel Corp., Hwan Young Steel Ind. Co. and Daehan Steel Co., with a combined share of 81.5 percent in the local rebar market, fixed their prices between May 2015 and December 2016 by reducing their discounts, in order to prevent a sharp drop in prices against the backdrop of rising imports from China.
In particular, Hyundai Steel has received the largest fine of KRW 41.8 billion, followed by Dongkuk Steel Mill with KRW 30.2 billion, KISCO with KRW 17.5 billion, YK Steel with KRW 11.3 billion, Hwan Young Steel with KRW 11.3 billion and Daehan Steel with KRW 7.3 billion.