Key Summary
- South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission said it will impose 1.6265 trillion won in fines on 15 financial firms over alleged collusion in Treasury bond auctions.
- The companies include five banks and 10 securities firms; the regulator said the case is the largest cartel-related fine it has ever imposed.
- The commission said the firms coordinated bid yields and volumes in auctions between 2020 and 2023, with agreements found in 145 of 150 related bidding cases.
- Seven firms with longer involvement and more implicated bids will also be referred to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials for possible criminal action.
Main Story
South Korea’s antitrust regulator has decided to fine 15 financial institutions a combined 1.6265 trillion won for suspected collusion in Treasury bond bidding, according to the Fair Trade Commission.
The institutions include five banks and 10 securities firms, among them Industrial Bank of Korea, Mirae Asset Securities and Korea Investment & Securities, the report said. The commission described the penalty as the largest ever imposed in a cartel case.
According to the regulator, the firms are suspected of coordinating bidding behavior over roughly three and a half years, from 2020 through 2023. It said the companies exchanged information on bid yields and bid sizes shortly before auctions, and in some cases agreed on those terms in advance.
The commission said its investigation found signs of collusion in messaging records as well. It added that 145 of the 150 related auction cases involved agreement on bid yields.
The firms had argued during the review process that their exchanges were ordinary conversation or routine information sharing, not collusion. The regulator, however, emphasized that Treasury bond yields affect the government’s funding costs and said public procurement-style bid rigging should be punished strictly.
In addition to the fines, the commission said it will refer seven firms to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials because of the length of their involvement and the number of bids affected. Those referred include KB Securities, with fines exceeding 330 billion won, NH Investment & Securities at 240 billion won, and Mirae Asset Securities at 210 billion won.
The commission said the referral decision was based on a broader review of the violations, not only on the size of the fines.
Background
The supplied text does not provide additional background beyond the reported auction period, the regulatory investigation, and the role of Treasury bond yields in government financing.
Items Requiring Further Verification
- The fine amounts and the exact allocation across the 15 firms should be independently verified against the regulator’s formal decision or filing.
- The allegation that bid-rigging occurred in 145 of 150 auctions is attributed to the commission and should be checked against primary documents.
- The statement that the case is the largest cartel fine in the commission’s history should be confirmed with official records.
- The planned criminal referral of seven firms is a regulatory decision described in the report, but follow-up confirmation from the receiving authority would be needed to verify case handling.