Price-fix appeal is a Seoul-shock

SIXTEEN airlines charged with price-fixing in South Korea have lost their appeal.

The Seoul High Court rejected Thai Airways’ demand that the Fair Trade Commission withdraw its 2.1 billion won (US$1.8 million) penalty imposed on the company for price fixing.

“We recognise that Thai Airways and other air cargo carriers made a deal to introduce and raise fuel surcharges,” Judge Kwak Jong-hun says.

The commission imposed an estimated 120 billion won ($104 billion) in fines against the air cargo carriers including South Korea’s two national flag airlines Korean Air and Asiana Airlines in November 2010, saying they fixed their airfares by introducing or raising fuel surcharges.

Share this story