South Korean Prosecutors Indict HD Hyundai Oilbank in 26 Trillion Won Price Case

Seoul Central District Prosecutors indicted HD Hyundai Oilbank Co. and two of its pricing department officials on Monday in a price-fixing case tied to petroleum products. The charges center on collusion with SK Energy Co.

-Iran war in late February. Prosecutors valued that direct collusion at 14.2 trillion won. GS Caltex Corp. and S-Oil Corp. matched the increases, producing a total anticompetitive impact of around 26 trillion won.

SK Energy was not indicted under a leniency program, and the other two refiners faced no charges because their conduct did not violate fair-trade law. The prosecution separately indicted all four companies for violating the fair trade act by imposing unfair purchasing contracts on independent gas stations.

It also indicted one HD Hyundai Oilbank employee and one GS Caltex employee on charges of destroying evidence connected to the Fair Trade Commission's on-site inspection in March.

Prosecutors said the refiners imposed aggressive price hikes despite having stockpiled considerable amounts of crude oil when the war began. "The collusion that came immediately after the war was not a temporary deviation but chronic collusive practices being made in an international crisis situation," the prosecution said. CNBC reported that the four refiners could not be reached for comment.