FTC Imposes 2.05 Billion Won Penalty on Gas Stations for Price Fixing

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has imposed a corrective order and a fine of 2.05 billion won on the Jeju chapter of the Korea Gas Station Association, Jeju Nonghyup (Agricultural Cooperatives), and Seogwipo Nonghyup for colluding by sharing refined oil sales prices in advance.

Jeju Nonghyup and Seogwipo Nonghyup notified the Korea Gas Station Association’s Jeju chapter of their refined oil sales prices before disclosing them on Opinet (the government’s oil price information system). The association then set the provided prices as the standard benchmark and instructed member stations to comply by notifying them via KakaoTalk group chats or text messages. As of the end of 2024, the Jeju chapter had 116 member companies, accounting for approximately 60% of gas stations in the Jeju region, while Jeju Nonghyup and Seogwipo Nonghyup operated three and two gas stations, respectively.

Due to this collusion, the average price of gasoline in Jeju was up to 83 won per liter higher than on the mainland, while diesel was up to 150 won higher and kerosene was 53 won higher.

The Korea Gas Station Association’s Jeju chapter instructed member companies to delete price notifications and prevent external leakage. Jeju Nonghyup and Seogwipo Nonghyup reported stations selling below the standard price to the association and requested that nearby non-member stations also adhere to the benchmark prices.