Antitrust authorities in South Korea are investigating a number of Japanese and German auto component manufacturers over allegations of price fixing in the local automotive market.
The Fair Trade Commission has not released the names of the companies under investigation, but confirmed they have been suppliers to Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors for at least several years.
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The component suppliers are suspected of having been in contact with each other before bidding for original equipment contracts and of coordinating their bids – giving them control over prices in a captive market.
In late 2013, the FTC fined a number of foreign component suppliers, including Denso, Continental and Bosch, a total of KRW115bn (US$106m) for automotive original equipment price fixing.
