Korea’s 4 oil refiners fined US$400 million for collusion

The Korea Fair Trade Commission fined the country’s four oil refiners, SK Energy, GS Caltex, Hyundai Oilbank and S-Oil, a total of 434.8 billion won (US$400 million) for attempting to limit competition among gas stations and under the table arrangements on pricing. This is following an anti-trust ruling put forth by regulators. Three companies may have to undergo further investigation, SK Innovation (parent company of SK Energy), GS Caltex and Hyundai Oilbank, due to the reported “severity of their behavior”. All four companies are reportedly filing countersuits and strongly deny accusations of collusion. (May 26,2011)