Tender fixing for water regeneration drugs...KRW 390 million in fine for Taewon and Politez

The Fair Trade Commission said it will impose a fine of 391 million won on Taewon and Polytets Korea on charges of collusion in a competitive bidding for drugs used by the Seoul Metropolitan Government's water regeneration center.

The two companies were accused of agreeing on prices with prospective bidders in advance in 31 competitive bids for inorganic coagulant purchases ordered by the Seoul Water Regeneration Facility Corporation from January 2019 to March last year.

Inorganic coagulants are additives for aggregating and precipitating fine solid particles remaining in water.

The FTC said it will strengthen monitoring of bid rigging in the public sector, saying it was meaningful in detecting and sanctioning bid rigging that caused budget waste for public institutions.