South Korea's corporate watchdog said Sunday that it has levied a total of 20 billion won (US$17.9 million) in fines on seven water-related engineering firms for cartel-like activities.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Water Resources Engineering Corp. and six other firms colluded for major maintenance and repair projects valued at 310 billion won, placed by the Korea Water Resources Corp. between 2011 and 2016. The moved helped the company win a stable flow of orders without submitting the lowest possible price for the contracts.

The corporate watchdog also said it plans to refer five firms to state prosecutors for further investigation. (Yonhap)

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