South Korean prosecutors seek arrest warrants for eight petrochemical executives over alleged price fixing
Seoul prosecutors have asked courts to issue arrest warrants for eight current and former petrochemical executives accused of colluding to fix prices of several chemicals.
On Monday, prosecutors in Seoul requested arrest warrants for eight executives, both current and former, of domestic petrochemical companies suspected of running a price-fixing cartel. The list includes OCI chief executive Kim Yoo-shin and former PKC chief Jang Young-soo, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office. Investigators claim that seven firms—LG Chem, Hanwha Solutions, Aekyung Chemical, OCI, Lotte Fine Chemical, PKC and Unid—colluded over several years to inflate prices of eight products such as PVC, plasticizers, caustic soda and hydrochloric acid, taking advantage of naphtha supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.
The alleged scheme is said to have generated illicit profits amounting to several trillion won. Authorities executed coordinated raids on the companies on August 5 and subsequently interrogated Kim and Jang as suspects on Thursday. PVC, a synthetic plastic derived from naphtha, is widely used in construction, piping and insulation, while plasticizers soften PVC. The case highlights potential anti-competitive behavior in South Korea’s chemical sector.
Why it matters
The alleged cartel could have driven up prices of basic chemicals, affecting construction and manufacturing costs nationwide.
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