2 foreign auto parts manufacturers slapped with combined fine of $24.1 mil. for bid-rigging

A logo of Korea Fair Trade Commission is seen at its headquarters in Sejong. Yonhap

Korean branches of two foreign auto parts manufacturers, NIFCO Korea and ITW Automotive, have been slapped with a combined fine worth 35.4 billion won ($24.1 million) for bid-rigging, the antitrust watchdog said Tuesday.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it 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, auto parts manufacturing arm of Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor, and CREA for more than seven years.

The companies are local branches of Japan-based auto parts manufacturer NIFCO and U.S.-based firm ITW Automotive.

They are found to have colluded in 24 bids to rig the procedures to channel orders to each other from October 2013 to March 2021, succeeding in 20 of those cases.

During the cited period, NIFCO and ITW supplied at least 96.8 percent of Hyundai Mobis' purchases of automotive air vents in terms of value, according to the FTC.

The FTC said it has filed complaints against the two companies with the Supreme Prosecutors Office on charges of violating Korea's Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act.