{"id":87305,"date":"2022-06-13T15:13:40","date_gmt":"2022-06-13T08:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advantage.vn\/vi\/?p=87305"},"modified":"2022-08-20T15:16:14","modified_gmt":"2022-08-20T08:16:14","slug":"liner-operators-fined-64-for-fixing-south-korea-japan-freight-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advantage.vn\/en\/liner-operators-fined-64-for-fixing-south-korea-japan-freight-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"Liner operators fined $64m for fixing South Korea-Japan freight rates"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Advantage Logistics<\/a><\/span>] Fifteen liner operators have been fined a total of $64m by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) for colluding to fix South Korea-Japan freight rates.<\/strong><\/p>\n

KFTC handed down its decision on 9 June, after a two-month probe that focused on the liner operators\u2019 actions between February 2003 and May 2019.<\/p>\n

Those penalized included: Heung-A Line, fined $12.5m; KMTC Line, fined $11.6m; Sinokor Merchant Marine, fined $9.6m; HMM was fined $39,060 and SM Line was fined $86,888.<\/p>\n

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The penalty comes five months after 23 liner operators were fined $81m for fixing freight on South Korea-Southeast Asia services.<\/p>\n

At the time the KFTC announced its probe into the offense on the South Korea-Japan route, 27 liner operators were also investigated for fixing freight on the South Korea-China route between January 2002 and December 2018 and received corrective orders.<\/p>\n

South Korean media reported last month that the Chinese government had written to its South Korean counterparts to object to the probe.<\/p>\n

The Korea Shipowners Association said it will file a legal application to strike out the penalties, arguing that the shipping industry has always engaged in collective freight decisions.<\/p>\n

While the Shipping Act permits such joint actions, these were not exempted by the Fair Trade Act.<\/p>\n

As a result, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) had moved to exempt joint actions from the Fair Trade Act during the initial probe into the South Korea-Southeast Asia freight fixing allegation, However, the exemption came too late and the KFTC said it could not be retroactive.<\/p>\n

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A KSA official said: \u201cThis is an incomprehensible treatment [of the lines] and we will prove it through litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

KFTC\u2019s cartel investigation director Cho Hong-sun, explained: \u201cThe liner operators did not go through the procedures such as consultation with shippers or reporting to the MOF as required by the Shipping Act. And this made it a major departure from the Fair Trade Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe issued corrective orders for the South Korea-China freight fixing action as the South Korean and Chinese governments have been managing cargo volumes through shipping agreements for a long time, and the effect of restricting competition is relatively small,\u201d said Mr Cho.<\/p>\n

Source: theloadstar.com<\/strong><\/p>\n

>> Other news:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n