South Korea fines Japan's Denso, Mitsubishi Electronics in car part price-fixing case

[SEOUL] South Korea's anti-trust regulator fined Japan's Denso and Mitsubishi Electric a combined 1.14 billion won (S$1.3 million) on Wednesday on charges of colluding to fix the prices of engine starter motors supplied to General Motors.

This is the seventh price-fixing case involving global auto component makers probed by South Korea and comes amid a worldwide crackdown on car part cartels.

In 2008, Denso and Mitsubishi Electric colluded on bid prices for the engine starter motors used in GM's Spark, Cruze and Orlando vehicles made in South Korea, the Fair Trade Commission said in a statement.

Denso was fined 510 million won and Mitsubishi Electric 630 million won.

Denso said it won't have to pay the fine because it has applied for a leniency program which enables a company to escape sanctions if on its own it reports the illegal conduct.

An official at Mitsubishi Electric was not immediately available for comment.

REUTERS