"Price gouging on fuel in the middle of a war?" Prosecutors raid four refiners and the Korea Petroleum Association

[Financial News] Prosecutors have launched a compulsory investigation into four refiners—SK Energy, GS Caltex, S-Oil and HD Hyundai Oilbank—on suspicion of colluding to fix fuel prices, even as the United States and Iran are at war.
According to the legal community on the 23rd, the Fair Trade Investigation Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, led by Chief Prosecutor Na Hee-seok, began raids in the morning on the four refiners and the Korea Petroleum Association, of which they are members, on charges of violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (MRFTA). Because of the large scale of the market and the complexity of the alleged cartel structure, a substantial number of investigators have reportedly been dispatched to the sites.
With signs that fuel prices are surging due to the impact of the war, prosecutors are seen as moving preemptively to crack down on possible price-fixing and other collusive practices.
On the 13th, the Government of South Korea introduced a maximum oil price system and has been making an all-out effort to stabilize oil prices. During an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on the 5th, President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea, referring to possible collusion on fuel prices in the refining industry, ordered officials to "ensure that no unjust profits are taken." The Ministry of Justice, the very next day on the 6th, labeled fuel price collusion a "serious anti-social criminal act" and instructed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea to respond firmly.
Meanwhile, the Fair Trade Investigation Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is also conducting wide-ranging probes beyond the alleged fuel price cartel, including a starch sugar price-fixing case and abuse-of-dominance cases involving platforms such as Yanolja and Yeogi Eottae. Recently, it has also investigated alleged collusion in the prices of sugar, flour and electricity.
kyu0705@fnnews.com Kim Dong-gyu Reporter