In this case, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (“KFTC”) filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutors’ Office (“PO”) against seven steelmakers, including our client, for allegedly fixing the base price of scrap metal, a raw material for steel bars, for approximately eight years. Upon investigating the allegations, the PO indicted the companies for violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (“MRFTA”). Under these circumstances, Kim & Chang obtained an acquittal (the statute of limitations had expired for some of the allegations) from the trial court. The appellate court then upheld the trial court’s decision, and ultimately the Supreme Court affirmed the not guilty verdict.

Through extensive evidence analysis and witness examinations, our firm argued from various perspectives that exchanging information at meetings with competitors’ employees did not constitute an “agreement” prohibited by the MRFTA. In particular, despite the existence of a leniency applicant in this case, we successfully impeached the evidence presented by the KFTC and the PO in the cross examination of a number of witnesses, including the KFTC’s case handler and employees of the leniency applicant. In the end, the trial court, appellate court and Supreme Court acquitted our client despite the existence of a leniency applicant.