Investigators Visit Seoul Office on May 7 and Secure Related Materials
A view of Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje Shipyard [Photo=Hanwha Ocean]
The Fair Trade Commission has launched an on-site inspection in connection with allegations of unfair trade practices in Hanwha Ocean’s naval equipment supply process.
According to industry sources on May 7, the Fair Trade Commission recently sent investigators to Hanwha Ocean’s Seoul office and secured related materials. The commission is reportedly examining whether Hanwha Ocean violated the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act in the course of providing submarine-mounted equipment it produced to a competitor.
Hanwha Ocean has maintained its position as the leading company in the surface ship and submarine market over the past three years. As Hanwha Ocean holds a large number of exclusive technologies, competitors are in a structure in which they have little choice but to rely on it for parts procurement. If Hanwha Ocean were to exploit the market structure by discriminatorily providing naval vessel parts prices or information to competitors, competition would inevitably be restricted.
The Fair Trade Commission’s recent decision to extend by three years the corrective measures it had attached as conditions when approving the business combination between Hanwha and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, now Hanwha Ocean, three years ago was also due to concerns over possible restrictions on competition. At the time of the business combination, the Fair Trade Commission imposed corrective measures prohibiting acts such as unfairly discriminatory provision of naval vessel parts prices. However, the current on-site inspection is understood to involve a matter unrelated to that corrective order.
Jung Min-hee
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