Despite sanctions by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), a total of 65 businesses have been caught participating in collusive practices (unfair collaborative acts) three or more times over the past seven years.

According to data on "Surcharges by Respondent in Unfair Collaborative Act Cases" submitted to Representative Park Sung-hoon of the People Power Party on the National Policy Committee by the FTC on the 19th, 65 businesses were involved in three or more separate cartel cases between 2020 and August of this year.

By company, Hansaeom [009240] recorded the highest number at 20 cases.

Following closely behind were Hyundai Livart [079430] and Dongbang [004140] with 18 cases each, Enex [011090] with 16 cases, Nefs with 14 cases, CJ Logistics [000120] with 13 cases, Emones Furniture with 12 cases, and Sebang [004360] and Hanjin [002320] with 11 cases each.

The scale of surcharges has also surged dramatically. Annual surcharges for unfair collaborative acts stood at KRW 219.3 billion in 2024 and KRW 263.6 billion in 2025, but skyrocketed to KRW 2,457.6 billion between January and August of this year—more than nine times the total annual surcharge from the previous year.

Analysts suggest that the overall increase in surcharges is driven by a series of recent sanctions against large-scale cartel cases.

Amidst these findings, critics point out that the effectiveness of sanctions must be enhanced for businesses that repeatedly engage in collusive practices. The FTC is also recently pursuing institutional improvements to rationalize the leniency program (voluntary reporting reductions) for repeat cartel offenders.

Representative Park Sung-hoon stated, "The fact that numerous businesses continue to repeat cartel activities even after receiving surcharges indicates that we must re-examine whether current sanctions possess sufficient deterrent power. The losses incurred upon detection must clearly outweigh the profits gained from collusion."

He emphasized, "We must break this vicious cycle by increasing sanctions, such as imposing heavier surcharges for repeat violations and restricting leniency reductions."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]