Hyundai Steel Partially Wins Lawsuit to Overturn KFTC Fine for Scrap Metal Price Collusion

[Financial News] Hyundai Steel, which was fined over 90 billion KRW by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) for allegedly colluding to fix scrap metal prices, has achieved a partial victory in its lawsuit to overturn the fine. The court acknowledged the collusion but found errors in the KFTC’s calculation of the fine amount.
According to the legal community on the 6th, the Seoul High Court Administrative Division 7, presided over by Koo Hoe-geun, recently ruled partially in favor of Hyundai Steel in its lawsuit against the KFTC seeking to overturn the corrective order and fine.
The court canceled the KFTC's fine order but upheld the corrective order. Previously, in January 2021, the KFTC issued corrective orders and imposed a total fine of 300.83 billion KRW on Hyundai Steel and six other steelmakers, citing collusion on the purchase price of ferrous scrap, a rebar raw material, from 2010 to 2018.
Among the seven steelmakers, Hyundai Steel, identified as the ringleader, received the largest fine of 90.958 billion KRW. In February 2021, Hyundai Steel filed a lawsuit to overturn the fine, arguing that the KFTC had double-counted certain sales figures when calculating the basis for the fine.
The court stated, "The purchasing teams of the steelmakers frequently exchanged important information and agreed to engage in joint conduct that unfairly restricted competition," thus recognizing the collusion itself. However, it determined that the specific amount of the fine must be recalculated.
Previously, on December 20, 2020, the KFTC requested Hyundai Steel to submit sales data by the following day. Hyundai Steel submitted the data, noting that there were some overlapping items, and then provided corrected purchase data in January of the next year. However, the court found that the KFTC calculated the fine based on the uncorrected purchase data, not the revised sales data.
The court pointed out, "The fine order in this case is unlawful, as it is based on a misunderstanding of the facts underlying the calculation of the fine, constituting an abuse of discretion."

hwlee@fnnews.com Lee Hwan-joo Reporter