The publishing industry, including 19 organizations such as the Korean Publishers Association and the Korean Publishers Conference, issued a joint statement on September 8, criticizing the paper industry for attempting to justify price increases resulting from collusion by exploiting the Fair Trade Commission's 'price determination' process.
The publishing sector demands that paper companies immediately reduce collusive prices and that the Fair Trade Commission rigorously review the price determination reports.
According to the publishing industry, paper companies, which dominate 95% of the domestic printing paper market, have engaged in organized price collusion seven times over the years, resulting in a 71% increase in paper prices. In April, the Fair Trade Commission imposed fines and mandated a return to pre-collusion prices through 'price determination.'
However, documents obtained by the publishing industry from paper distributors indicate that since the end of July, there have been reductions in discounts and adjustments to base prices for certain printing papers. Recently, it has been reported that companies like Hansol Paper and Korea Paper have communicated plans for additional price increases of up to 13% to their clients.
The publishing industry characterized this as an attempt by the paper sector to disguise collusive prices as 'normal prices,' stating, 'Paper companies must eliminate the effects of collusion to restore competitive pricing and should also compensate for the damages inflicted on the publishing industry due to collusion.'
They further emphasized, 'The Fair Trade Commission must rigorously examine the cost calculations, distribution margins, and overall pricing processes in the price determination reports submitted by paper companies. If this is not strictly verified, it can only be seen as the Fair Trade Commission effectively condoning or facilitating collusion.'
To rectify the distorted market order caused by collusion, the publishing industry has formed a 'Joint Damages Lawsuit Committee Against Paper Company Collusion.' They plan to initiate a joint damages claim lawsuit against the paper companies in collaboration with a law firm.
Previously, the Fair Trade Commission uncovered that major paper companies in the domestic printing paper market had colluded on price increases and discount rates for several years. In April, the commission imposed fines on these companies and ordered corrective measures to revert prices to pre-collusion levels.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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