Domestic oil refiners and their employees have been indicted on charges of colluding to raise fuel prices in the immediate aftermath of tensions between the United States and Iran.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office’s Fair Trade Investigation Department announced on July 6 that it has indicted HD Hyundai Oilbank and two employees from its pricing department for allegedly sharing information on the timing and scale of price hikes with competitors and sharply increasing fuel prices following the outbreak of the conflict.

SK Energy, which was identified as having participated in the collusion, was excluded from the indictment under the leniency program for whistleblowers. GS Caltex and S-Oil were also not included in this round of indictments.

According to the prosecution’s investigation, HD Hyundai Oilbank and SK Energy began exchanging price information in July 2024 and agreed to simultaneously raise prices in the event of a war.

The scale of the collusion between these two companies amounts to 14.2 trillion won. When including the subsequent price increases by GS Caltex and S-Oil, the total impact of the collusion is estimated at 26 trillion won.

At the time, the four major oil refiners held significant stockpiles of crude oil and had no reason to spike prices, yet they were found to have simultaneously raised their supply prices.

In particular, it was revealed that the arrested department head at HD Hyundai Oilbank led the agreement, leveraging their previous experience working for SK Energy.

In chat logs secured by the prosecution, employees were found to have used inappropriate language while discussing price hikes and the war situation.

Additionally, the prosecution confirmed that the refiners had engaged in practices of signing exclusive supply contracts with independent gas stations and pressuring them with penalty lawsuits to prevent them from trading with cheaper suppliers. All four major oil refiners have been indicted for these practices.

It was discovered that discussions took place within the oil companies about using lawsuits to penalize problematic business partners.

Furthermore, employees who systematically deleted relevant documents and messenger conversations ahead of an investigation by the Korea Fair Trade Commission have also been indicted.

Chief Prosecutor Na Hee-seok expressed regret that other refiners involved in the collusion could not be indicted due to the destruction of evidence.

The prosecution also detected signs that some refiners had falsely reported gasoline sales prices to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and plans to share this information with the relevant ministry.

The prosecution emphasized that it would do its utmost to maintain the charges to ensure that the defendants, who disrupted the oil market through collusion and the abuse of their dominant position, receive sentences commensurate with their crimes.

(Photo: Yonhap News)