SEOUL, April 23, 2026 — South Korea’s Korea Fair Trade Commission has imposed fines totaling 338.3 billion won (about $245 million) on six paper manufacturers for colluding to raise prices of printing paper over nearly four years.
The regulator said the companies coordinated price increases for printing paper products between February 2021 and December 2024, agreeing to raise base prices or reduce discounts in order to increase effective sales prices across the market.
The companies involved include Hansol Paper, Korea Paper, Moorim Paper, Moorim P&P, Moorim SP and Hongwon Paper.
Two companies—Korea Paper and Hongwon Paper—will also be referred to prosecutors over their role in the cartel.
Coordinated price increases
According to the competition authority, executives from the companies held more than 60 meetings during the cartel period and agreed on seven rounds of coordinated price increases. These increases were implemented either by raising benchmark prices or by reducing discount rates offered to customers.
Authorities said the agreements were fully implemented, leading to an average 71% increase in printing paper prices during the period.
Printing paper is a key input used in products such as textbooks, books, magazines and brochures, meaning the price increases likely raised costs for printing companies and publishers and were ultimately passed on to consumers.
Efforts to conceal the cartel
Investigators said cartel participants used unusual methods to avoid detection.
Employees avoided using their own mobile phones to communicate, instead relying on public payphones, restaurant phones or other employees’ devices, and recorded competitors’ contact details using initials or pseudonyms on handwritten notes.
The companies even agreed on the order in which they would announce price increases to customers to avoid concentrating buyer resistance on any one firm. When disagreements arose, the order was sometimes decided by tossing coins or rolling dice, according to the regulator.
One of the largest cartel penalties
The total fine of 338.3 billion won ranks as the fifth-largest penalty imposed in a cartel case by the regulator, and the largest ever for collusion in the paper industry, the authority said.
In addition to fines, the commission ordered the companies to independently reset their prices to restore pre-cartel competition and to report pricing changes every six months for the next three years.
The authority said the measures are intended to restore competition in the printing paper market, where the six companies together account for around 95% of domestic sales.
Officials added they will continue monitoring cartel activity in sectors affecting everyday living costs, including food and other essential goods.
