Arrest Warrants Sought For 8 Petrochemical Executives Over Alleged Price Fixing

(MENAFN- IANS) Seoul, Sep 14 (IANS) Prosecutors here on Monday requested arrest warrants for eight current and former executives of domestic petrochemical companies suspected of engaging in price fixing involving several trillion won.

The eight include Kim Yoo-shin, chief executive officer (CEO) of OCI, and Jang Young-soo, former CEO of PKC, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, reports Yonhap news agency.

Prosecutors suspect that seven companies -- LG Chem, Hanwha Solutions, Aekyung Chemical, OCI, Lotte Fine Chemical, PKC and Unid -- colluded for several years to raise prices for eight petrochemical products, including PVC, plasticizers, caustic soda and hydrochloric acid.

The companies are suspected of making illicit profits totaling several trillions of won by taking advantage of supply disruptions in naphtha caused by the Middle East conflict.

Prosecutors conducted simultaneous raids on the companies on Aug. 5, and subsequently questioned Kim and Jang as suspects on Thursday.

PVC, primarily made from naphtha, is a synthetic plastic widely used in construction materials, pipes and wire insulation, while plasticizers are chemical additives that make PVC softer and more flexible.

Meanwhile, Seoul stocks tumbled by more than 3 per cent on Monday as investors sold off tech-heavyweights on persisting geopolitical uncertainties and warnings from U.S. tech executives that the pace of artificial intelligence (AI) development may be too fast. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.

After opening sharply lower, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 225.54 points, or 3.26 percent, to 6,684.37.

Trade volume was light at 274.4 million shares worth 20.19 trillion won (US$14.93 billion). Losers outnumbered winners 561 to 308.

Retail investors were net buyers, snapping up 2.97 trillion won. Institutional and foreign investors offloaded a combined net 4.46 trillion won, said the report.

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