[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has awarded special bonuses to officials who uncovered a large-scale sugar price-fixing cartel, in line with President Lee Jae-myung’s directive to reward outstanding performance.

The FTC said on April 26 that it granted a total of KRW 32 million in performance bonuses to 14 staff members, including investigators and senior officials. Two key officials who led the probe into the sugar cartel involving CJ CheilJedang, Samyang Corporation, and Daehan Sugar received KRW 10 million and KRW 5 million, respectively.

The FTC previously concluded that the three companies colluded on sugar prices eight times between February 2021 and April 2025, covering transactions worth approximately KRW 3.2 trillion, and imposed fines totaling about KRW 396 billion.

According to the agency, investigators initially detected irregular pricing patterns while monitoring the market, noting simultaneous price increases across regions. The case was led by a senior official with prior experience in uncovering a similar cartel in 2007.

Additional awards were granted to officials involved in identifying undisclosed affiliates in major business groups and strengthening enforcement measures against unfair trade practices.

The FTC said it introduced the special bonus system this year to incentivize high-impact policy outcomes and enforcement achievements, particularly in cases involving significant consumer impact or major market violations.

 

 

 

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