South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission Fines 48 Furniture Companies Over Bid Collusion in Built-In Furniture Contracts

SEOUL, Dec 29, 2025 — South Korea’s competition watchdog, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), announced today that it has levied substantial fines totaling 25 billion won (approximately US $17.4 million) against 48 domestic furniture manufacturers and suppliers for participating in bid-rigging and collusion in procurement tenders for built-in and system furniture used in apartment and construction projects across the country.

According to the FTC’s investigation, these companies engaged in anti-competitive conduct by predetermining winning bidders and coordinating bid prices in advance, undermining competitive tendering processes in contracts issued by 54 construction companies between September 2013 and May 2022. The regulator found evidence that such practices occurred in 240 separate bidding processes, significantly affecting the normal competitive landscape for suppliers of built-in cabinets, kitchen units, closets, and other built-in furniture products for residential and commercial buildings.

Penalties and Major Fines

The largest individual penalties were imposed on several major industry players:

• Enex Co. received the highest fine at 5.84 billion won,
• Hanssem Co. was fined 3.8 billion won,
• Hyundai Livart incurred a 3.74 billion won fine, and
• Nexis was penalized 1.285 billion won — among others.

Built-in furniture — including fixtures like kitchen cabinets, built-in wardrobes, and other integrated fittings — is a standard component of modern apartments and offices in South Korea, and contracts to supply this equipment are highly competitive. The FTC determined that by agreeing on prospective winners and bid pricing ahead of formal bidding, these companies violated the nation’s Fair Trade Act, harming competition and potentially inflating costs passed on to builders and consumers.

Wider FTC Crackdown on Bid-Rigging

This latest enforcement action forms part of a broader campaign by the FTC to curtail collusion and unfair trade practices not only in furniture procurement but across sectors that directly impact everyday consumer costs and market fairness. South Korea’s antitrust authority has been increasingly active in penalizing price-fixing and bid-rigging practices, with the furniture industry emerging as a particularly scrutinized area given the frequency of collusive patterns identified in previous investigations.

In recent years, the FTC has targeted other cartel and collusion cases across industries including construction and digital markets, reinforcing its commitment to strengthening competitive market structures and safeguarding consumers from inflated prices due to prohibited collusion.

Industry Response and Outlook

While some fined companies may appeal the rulings or seek mitigation, the FTC’s action sends a clear signal that longstanding collusive behaviors in key supply sectors will face heightened regulatory oversight. The regulator has emphasized that these penalties are intended not only to punish past misconduct but to deter future anti-competitive behavior, promote transparent bidding processes, and ultimately protect consumers and construction partners from unfair trade practices that could unduly raise project costs.

As global furniture markets evolve — increasingly emphasizing sustainability, innovation, and competitive sourcing — regulatory scrutiny of procurement practices is expected to rise, raising the bar for compliance and ethical competition in supply chains spanning local and international markets.