Six South Korean petrochemical firms and dozens of executives charged with price fixing
South Korean prosecutors have indicted six petrochemical companies and over 40 current and former officials for colluding to fix prices on eight products worth more than 16 trillion won.
Prosecutors in Seoul have filed indictments against six major petrochemical companies—LG Chem, Aekyung Chemical, OCI, Lotte Fine Chemical, PKC and Unid—accusing them of a multi-year price-fixing conspiracy. The cartel allegedly manipulated the prices of eight petrochemical products, among them PVC, plasticizers, caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, affecting a market worth roughly 16.39 trillion won. Over 40 current and former company officials, including OCI Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Yu-shin and former PKC CEO Jang Young-soo, were also charged.
Two former division heads, identified only by the surnames Bae and Hwang, were sent to trial while detained. The alleged collusion continued despite government subsidies intended to support petrochemical production amid rising oil prices.
Why it matters
The case could reshape pricing practices in South Korea's petrochemical sector and affect downstream industries.
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