31-12-09 A South Korean appellate court ordered four oil refiners to pay won 196 bn ($ 168.5 mm) in compensation to the government for damages caused by their price collusion for military procurement.
The lawsuit against SK Energy, GS Caltex, Hyundai Oilbank and S-Oil Corp. was filed by the Ministry of Defence in 2001 after the nation's fair trade regulators found that they had fixed high prices for military procurement from 1998-2000.

In the ruling, the Seoul High Court said the oil refiners must pay won 130.9 bn plus interest for the past nine years to the ministry, totalling won 196 bn.
"The oil refiners should take responsibility for damages caused by their collusion (by paying) compensation," the court said in the ruling.

The ruling was seen as a partial victory for the ministry, which sought won 158.4 bn and interest.
Seven years after the lawsuit was filed, a lower court ordered the oil refiners to pay won 81 bn in compensation. At the time, the amount of compensation was based on the assumption that they didn't engage in collusion.