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A Daesang executive appears at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on March 31 for a warrant hearing in connection with alleged price-fixing among starch sweetener companies. The suspects are accused of prearranging sales prices and colluding on bids involving major corporate buyers. (Photo = Yonhap News Agency) |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] A senior executive at Daesang Group has been arrested in connection with an alleged large-scale price-fixing scheme in the starch sweetener industry, while arrest warrants for the CEOs of Daesang and Sajo CPK were denied.
On March 31, Judge Kim Jin-man of the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for a Daesang executive in charge of the starch sweetener business, citing concerns over potential evidence destruction and flight risk.
The court, however, rejected arrest warrants for Daesang CEO Lim (surname withheld) and Sajo CPK CEO Lee (surname withheld), who were questioned in the same pre-arrest hearings. The court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate Lim’s involvement in the alleged collusion, and no risk of evidence tampering or flight in Lee’s case.
Starch sweeteners—derived from starch and used to produce syrup, fructose, and oligosaccharides—are widely utilized in food products such as snacks, beverages, and dairy items. Daesang and Sajo CPK are the two leading players in the domestic market.
The companies are accused of prearranging sales prices and colluding during bidding processes involving major corporate buyers.
Prosecutors suspect that four dominant firms in the market—Daesang, Samyang Corp., Sajo CPK, and CJ CheilJedang—engaged in collusion exceeding KRW 10 trillion over an eight-year period, making it significantly larger than previous cases involving flour (KRW 5 trillion) and sugar (KRW 3 trillion).
As part of the investigation, authorities conducted raids on the companies’ headquarters last month and exercised their right to request formal complaints from the Fair Trade Commission on two occasions. Under Korean law, antitrust cases require a complaint from the commission before prosecutors can proceed with indictments.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
