▲ Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho attends the State Council and Emergency Economic Headquarters meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 16th, responding to a question from Prime Minister Kim Min-seok regarding the blockade of the Jamsil vote counting station.
Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho stated that he would "respond sternly to unfair trade practices that threaten the lives of the public and major economic crimes that undermine the order of the market economy," following the arrest of an HD Hyundai Oilbank employee suspected of oil price fixing.
Minister Jung posted on his Facebook page today (June 19), saying, "The prosecution has arrested an executive and employee of an oil refinery for allegedly causing gasoline prices to skyrocket by 200 won in just one week by taking advantage of the Middle East war."
"The damage inflicted on the public due to oil price fixing amounts to 14 trillion won," Minister Jung explained. "The court recognized that the oil refineries shared information on competitors' oil product bid prices in advance and colluded to fix prices for the purpose of reaping short-term excess profits when the war broke out, and thus issued the arrest warrant."
He further pointed out, "Oil is a core raw material that has a massive impact on the lives of the public and the entire industry. Acts of manipulating its price are serious crimes that distort inflation and shake the national economy."
He emphasized, "The Ministry of Justice and the prosecution will uncover the truth behind the oil price fixing and hold those responsible strictly accountable."
Budong-sik, a senior judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant yesterday for a current department head surnamed Kim at HD Hyundai Oilbank's pricing department, who is accused of violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act.
The warrant for a former department head, which was requested at the same time, was dismissed.
Four oil refineries—SK Energy, GS Caltex, S-Oil, and HD Hyundai Oilbank—are suspected of collusion, such as arbitrarily raising or freezing the prices of fuel and petroleum products distributed domestically through prior consultation.
The prosecution is continuing its investigation, believing that there was a planned collusion among the oil refineries behind the simultaneous surge in domestic oil prices immediately after the outbreak of the Iran war.
Previously, President Lee Jae-myung had ordered a firm response, stating, "Prices are different in the morning, lunch, and evening, and there are even places raising prices by nearly 200 won per liter."
Minister Jung also criticized oil price fixing as an "anti-social, serious criminal act that seeks to turn the public's suffering into an opportunity for profiteering" and ordered the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to respond sternly.
With the arrest of the HD Hyundai Oilbank official, follow-up investigations, including attempts to secure the custody of officials from other oil refineries, are expected to gain momentum.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.