The Fair Trade Commission has initiated a review process regarding collusion in the bidding for starch products, including syrup and oligo, as well as price collusion for byproducts such as protein feed.
On July 7, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it has sent a report detailing the findings of its investigation to four starch manufacturing and sales companies—Daesang, Samyang Foods, CJ CheilJedang, and Saejoong CPK—marking the start of the review process. All four companies are implicated in the bidding collusion, while the price collusion for byproducts involves only Daesang, Saejoong CPK, and Samyang Foods, excluding CJ CheilJedang.
The Commission found that from September 2016 to June 2025, the four companies participated in bids for starch and syrup purchases from seven major end-users, agreeing in advance on the winning bidder, bid rankings, bid prices, and quantities. The Commission also believes these companies engaged in collusion regarding the distribution of quantities, estimating the related sales at 940 billion won.
Separately, Daesang, Saejoong CPK, and Samyang Foods are accused of regularly colluding on the sales prices of byproducts such as protein feed, gluten, and germ from August 2017 to October 2025. Protein feed and gluten are primarily used in livestock feed, while germ is used as a raw material for cooking oil, imposing direct cost burdens on livestock farms and the feed industry. The sales related to the byproduct price collusion amount to approximately 1.55 trillion won.
The investigators determined that these actions constitute a 'very serious violation' of regulations prohibiting price, quantity, and bidding collusion under the Fair Trade Act. Consequently, the fines for the implicated companies are expected to reach several hundred billion won. The Commission explained that it can impose fines of up to 20% of the affected sales related to the collusion.
The final results are expected to be announced within the year. The Commission plans to hold a meeting for a final decision once the eight-week period for submitting written opinions and reviewing evidence to ensure the defendants' right to defense is completed.
A Commission official stated, "We will focus on monitoring and strictly enforcing the law against collusion that threatens public welfare to effectively eliminate the incentives for such collusion."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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