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South Korean FTC Probes Samsung’s Self-Serve Cafeterias

By  |  May 2, 2021

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog will meet to weigh the penalties to impose on Samsung Group later this month over accusations that it has unfairly favored one of its subsidiaries for in-house cafeteria businesses.

The Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) will hold a two-day meeting sometime around May 26 and hear opinions from major Samsung subsidiaries before finalizing the level of punishment, according to industry sources.

Though the meeting often takes a day with all nine members present, including the chairman. It will take an additional day to review the latest case as it involves many parties and accusations, with heated debate between the watchdog and Samsung’s side also expected. 

The move comes after Samsung Welstory, the largest on-site food service provider in the country by revenue and a fully-owned subsidiary of Samsung C&T, was accused of receiving special treatment from the group’s other subsidiaries.

The accusations surrounding the conglomerate prompted the KFTC to launch an investigation in 2018.