Prearranged Bidding on Noryangjin Fish Market

Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced on Oct. 24 that Sajo Industrial Co., whose largest shareholder is opposition party lawmaker Joo Jin-Woo, and its subsidiary, Kumjin Distribution, had prearranged the bid on Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market (NFWM) by drawing in a `stand-in` firm.

KFTC held a plenary session on Oct. 24 and reported two firms, Sajo and Kumjin, and their CEO Lee Jin-Woo to the Prosecutor`s Office.

KFTC also gave the order of correction to Sajo, Kumjin and Wonwoo Co. (CEO Choi Nak-Min), which stood in the bidding upon the request of those two firms. But Rep. Joo, who is the co-chairman of Sajo, was excluded from the report as he was found to have done nothing significant in the bidding process.

KFTC`s decision is expected to heat up a controversy over a political logic possibly involved because it was made so quickly, namely, in less than a month while it normally takes 3~4 months to investigate prearranged biddings.

KFTC disclosed that Lee Jin Woo, CEO of Kumjin Distribution, had make his friend`s firm ,Wonwoo Co., participate in the bidding as a `stand-in` in order to win the bid at a range of 140 billion won when he participated in the 5th NFWM open auction on July 31.

Lee is suspected of having requested Choi to bid about 140 billion won. In addition, he opened a time deposit of 4,525 million won at a branch of Hanvit Bank and offered it as a security when he made a payment certification of the 7,025 billion won worth bid bond issued to Wonwoo.

Following such prearrangement, Kumjin Distribution and Wonwoo Co. participated in the 5th action with a bid of 140 billion, but the auction was pended because their bids did not reach the anticipated winning bid of 152.5 billion won.

KFTC administration office director Cho Hak-Kook said, ``We lodged a complaint with the Prosecutor`s Office only because to impose fine may be a double punishment.``

FFTC distribution and trade department director Ok Hwa-Young insisted, ``KFTC`s investigation has nothing to do with political issues such as election.``

Meanwhile, even though KFTC explained on Oct. 11, when the details of the investigation as such were reported by the press, ``The investigation is in progress, and nothing specific has been disclosed yet. When the result of investigation will be release cannot be told, either.`` it concluded the investigation in less than 15 days since then.

yhchoi65@donga.com