Oil refiners and officials accused of driving up domestic fuel prices through collusion amid the U.S.-Iran war have been sent to trial. Prosecutors determined that the anti-competitive effect from the collusion reached up to 26 trillion won.
The Fair Trade Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (led by Chief Prosecutor Na Hee-seok) said Friday that it had indicted four refiners — HD Hyundai Oilbank, SK Energy, GS Caltex, and S-Oil — on charges of violating the Fair Trade Act. Also sent to trial were the head of HD Hyundai Oilbank's pricing department, its lead manager, its head of legal affairs, and GS Caltex's head of domestic sales. The four companies' combined share of the domestic refining market reaches 98.6%.
Prosecutors explained that HD Hyundai Oilbank and SK Energy first led the price collusion, with GS Caltex and S-Oil following. According to prosecutors' estimates, the scale of direct collusion by HD Hyundai Oilbank and SK Energy amounted to 14.2 trillion won. Adding the ripple effects from GS Caltex and S-Oil following the prices, prosecutors judged that the total anti-competitive effect reached 26 trillion won.
Prosecutors launched their investigation on March 23 by conducting searches and seizures at the four refiners and other parties to determine why domestic petroleum product prices surged immediately after the U.S.-Iran war.
"This case is the largest single collusion case investigated by prosecutors," Chief Prosecutor Na Hee-seok said. "The surge in fuel prices during the U.S.-Iran war was a blatant manifestation of collusive practices that had become chronic in the industry for years before the war."
