South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-suk Vows to End Price-Fixing After More Than 1.8 Trillion Won in Fines

South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-suk vowed on Wednesday to eliminate price manipulation, saying the government had imposed more than 1.8 trillion won (about $1.3 billion) in administrative fines on companies involved in price-fixing this year. According to Sina Finance, she said on X that stabilizing prices was an important government responsibility and pledged to crack down firmly on price manipulation to protect the public’s dinner tables. Han said fines had been issued this year over price manipulation involving sugar, eggs, flour, and starch sugar, and that the measures had prompted prices of those goods to fall by as much as 26.5%. She said the companies had previously placed a heavy burden on consumers and vowed to eliminate collusion, adding that economic penalties would be increased to ensure no one could profit from it.