The Korea Fair Trade Commission, South Korea’s anti-trust authority, has fined the country’s major shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) KRW10.8bn ($9.6m) for violating laws on subcontracting.
DSME is accused of not having delivered contract documents to 27 subcontractors before commencement of works and unilaterally lowering preset contract prices to the subcontractors between 2013 and 2016.
The prosecutors are now conducting further investigations into the case. In the meantime, the commission has also launched similar investigations into the other two major shipbuilders in the country, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries.
Earlier this month, workers started a strike at DSME demanding a pay increase as the struggling yard has been attempting to slash salaries.
