KFTC Fines 27 Firms for Collusion in Gwangju School Uniform Bids

Twenty-seven companies have been caught rigging bids for school uniforms in Gwangju's middle and high schools, pre-arranging winners and inflating prices, thereby increasing the financial burden on parents and putting a stop to unfair practices in the education market.

The Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has decided to issue corrective orders and impose a total fine of 321 million won for this collusion.

The identified companies engaged in collusion between the 2021 and 2023 academic years by pre-agreeing on winning bidders and using shell companies (acting as decoys), participating in a total of 260 tenders. It was revealed that in 226 of these tenders, the winning bids were determined according to the prior agreements.

Since 2010, the KFTC has investigated and penalized a total of 47 instances of bid-rigging in school uniform tenders nationwide.