▲ Fair Trade Commission
The newly launched Priority Investigation Task Force of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating food companies over alleged price-fixing in its first case.
According to the industry, the FTC's Priority Investigation Task Force dispatched investigators to Daesang, Ottogi, and CJ CheilJedang today to conduct on-site inspections.
The FTC reportedly launched the investigation after capturing circumstances indicating that these companies colluded over several years on processed foods such as kimchi, tofu, edible oils, gift sets, instant rice, and sauces.
The FTC's Priority Investigation Task Force was launched early this month.
This marks the resurrection of the FTC's investigation bureau, once dubbed the "grim reaper of the business world," 21 years after it was abolished.
This case is counted as the Priority Investigation Task Force's inaugural case.
The task force's choice of food-related collusion as its very first assignment is interpreted as a deep recognition of the severity of law-violating acts in sectors closely tied to people's livelihoods.
Previously, on September 21, FTC Chairperson Joo Byung-ki said regarding the duties of the Priority Investigation Task Force, "We will actively leverage our investigative capabilities to swiftly and intensively inspect unfair practices in sectors closely related to the public's daily lives."
(Photo provided by Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
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