South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Wednesday that it has fined Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. 10.8 billion won (US$9.6 million) for violating laws on subcontracting as it referred the company to prosecutors for further investigation.
The world's second-biggest shipbuilder by sales is accused of not having delivered contract documents to 27 subcontractors before they began their work, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said.
The FTC also said Daewoo Shipbuilding unilaterally decided to lower contract prices for the subcontractors between 2013 and 2016.
Daewoo Shipbuilding said it will file an administrative lawsuit against the antitrust watchdog seeking to nullify the fine, calling the FTC's decision "disputable."
In 2013, the FTC slapped a fine of 26.7 billion won on Daewoo Shipbuilding for unilaterally cutting prices in deals with 89 smaller subcontractors for assembling, painting and other work related to building ships.
But the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Daewoo Shipbuilding in December 2017, and Daewoo Shipbuilding fully received back the money, according Daewoo Shipbuilding.
The watchdog has launched similar probes into Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder by sales, and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world's third-biggest shipbuilder by sales.
"We will sternly deal with any acts that violate the law," Kim Sang-jo, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, said in a meeting on the issue of subcontracting at the National Assembly in western Seoul. He also promised to quickly end probes into the shipbuilders and take follow-up measures. (yonhap)