LCD makers fined for price rigging

Korea’s antitrust watchdog said yesterday it has fined 10 flat panel makers, including Samsung Electronics, a combined 194 billion won ($175.6 million) for fixing product prices for years.

The companies subject to the penalties also include Korea’s LG Display and leading Taiwanese liquid-crystal display (LCD) makers, such as AU Optronics, according to the Fair Trade Commission.

Those liquid-crystal display makers were found to have fixed product prices by holding covert meetings - both bilateral and multilateral - in Taiwan every month between 2001 and 2006.

They were a move aimed at preventing steep price declines caused by oversupply.

During what they dubbed “crystal meetings,” the companies agreed on when and how much they would cut prices of thin film transistor LCD panels, the watchdog said.

These panels are mostly used in laptop computers and TVs.

Samsung Electronics was fined the largest 96.11 billion won.

LG Display, another Korean firm, was ordered to pay 65.15 billion won in penalties.

Taiwan’s AU Optronics Corporation and Chimei Innolux Corporation were fined 28.53 billion won and 1.55 billion won, respectively.

Yonhap