Collective sanctions on construction machinery rental unit price determination business operators

The Gyeonggi Provincial Council of Construction Machinery Individual Lending Businesses, which consists of construction machinery rental businesses such as excavators, was found to have decided on the unit price of construction machinery rental and notified the constituent businesses, and was subject to sanctions by the Fair Trade Commission.

The FTC said the council decided on construction machinery rent twice in 2017 and 2022, then notified its constituents in the form of a recommended price table, and led rallies or closures to induce compliance with recommended unit prices.

The FTC said it will issue a correction order, saying such an act is a prohibition of business groups under the Fair Trade Act, which harms the competitive order in the construction machinery rental market.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government is an organization established by operators who own construction machinery and lease equipment in Gyeonggi-do Province, with more than 3,700 excavators as of 2022, accounting for about 24% of Gyeonggi-do's commercial excavators.