Supreme Court clears DSME in penalty case

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering has won a court battle against a corporate watchdog that levied tens of billions of won in fines for underpaying subcontractors, court officials said Monday.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Daewoo on Thursday in a suit filed by the shipbuilder against the Fair Trade Commission in 2013, upholding a ruling by the Seoul Appellate Court which nullified the fine, according to the officials.

The Fair Trade Commission fined the shipbuilder 26.7 billion won ($24.4 million), saying 89 subcontractors were not paid 43.6 billion won between 2008 and 2009 by Daewoo, which the corporate watchdog accused of unfairly calculating prices of products made by the subcontractors.

In the ruling, the highest court upheld the decision made by the Seoul High Court in February last year that Daewoo had paid its subcontractors properly because it set prices in close consultation with them.

The ruling paved the way for the shipbuilder to get back about 30 billion won in fines and interest.

“We are pleased that the Supreme Court has recognized our efforts to improve competitiveness through enhanced productivity amid the suffering of the shipbuilding industry,” a Daewoo official said. Yonhap