Seoul: South Korean branches of two foreign auto parts manufacturers, NIFCO Korea Inc. and ITW Automotive, have been slapped with a combined fine worth 35.4 billion won (US$24.1 million) for bid-rigging, the antitrust watchdog said Tuesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has imposed the fine and issued corrective orders on the two companies on charges of colluding in bids for automotive air vent components commissioned by Hyundai Mobis Co., the auto parts manufacturing arm of Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Co., and CREA Co. for over seven years.
The companies involved are local branches of Japan-based auto parts manufacturer NIFCO Inc. and U.S.-based firm ITW Automotive. They were found to have colluded in 24 bids to manipulate procedures to channel orders to each other from October 2013 to March 2021, successfully executing the scheme in 20 of those instances.
During this period, NIFCO and ITW supplied at least 96.8 percent of Hyundai Mobis' purchases of automotive air vents in terms of value, as reported by the FTC. The FTC has also filed complaints against the two companies with the Supreme Prosecutors Office for violating Korea's Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act.