Four Major Oil Refiners Indicted by Prosecutors Over Suspected Collusion
We examine the background behind the surge in oil prices immediately after the U.S.-Iran war, amid allegations of price collusion by oil refiners. Take a quick look at the indictments of the company and its executives, as well as the key issues in the investigation.
The prosecution has brought the relevant corporations and executives to trial, believing that there was collusion among refiners in the process of domestic fuel prices surging immediately after the U.S.Iran war.
The Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced on the 6th that it had indicted HD Hyundai Oilbank and SK Energy on charges of violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, and also indicted two heads of HD Hyundai Oilbank's pricing department. The prosecution determined that the two companies drove up fuel prices by aligning the timing and extent of price increases.
The prosecution also believed that GS Caltex and SOil raised their prices in line with the collusive prices, amplifying the overall market price increase, but did not separately indict them because it found no evidence of direct collusion between the two companies. In addition, the investigation also targeted signs of evidence deletion and obstruction of the investigation by some companies, as well as the practice of fullsupply contracts with gas stations.