The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating officials of the Hyundai Heavy Industries, the top shipbuilder of the Republic of Korea (south), on the suspicion of excessively cutting payments for parts supplied by its subcontractors. This was reported by Yonhap and other Korean-language news media in Seoul on Oct. 1, 2018.
According to the sources, the FTC dispatched investigators to Hyundai Heavy's main office in Ulsan, 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to collect evidence on any wrongdoing.
The sources said the FTC may expand the probe to other local shipyards, such as Samsung Heavy Industries over similar charges.
Earlier, Director Kim Sang-jo of the FTC stated that his organization would look into unfair business practices by local shipyards.
