The U.S. Justice Department has announced three more former executives from LG and Chunghwa have been indicted for participating in a price fixing scheme that took place over several years.
Cheng Yuan Lin, aka C.Y. Lin, Wen Jun Cheng, aka Tony Cheng, and Duk Mo Koo are accused of eliminating competition by fixing TFT-LCD panel from Sept. 2001 to Dec. 2006. Cheng is a former chief executive of Chunghwa, Cheng Wen was the assistant vice president of sales and marketing at Chunghwa, and Duk is a former vice president at LG.
All three were indicted by a federal grand jury in San Francisco, California.
"The Antitrust Division will vigorously pursue individuals who engage in antitrust crimes targeting U.S. businesses and consumers no matter where those individuals live or commit the crime," said Scott D. Hammond, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division. "Today's charges should make clear that there are no safe havens for international cartels that violate the U.S. antitrust laws."
If convicted, each defendant faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million dollars.
In November, LG, Sharp, and Chunghwa pleaded guilty to price fixing in U.S. courts and a $400 million fine was then imposed on LG. Four Korean executives from LG and Chunghwa were sentenced and expected to serve anywhere from six up to nine months in federal prison for their crimes. Sharp was fined $120 million while Chunghwa had to pay $65 million.
Each person is accused of attending group meetings to discuss and modify LCD pricing, while aiming for a certain target level. They authorized and ordered employees of companies to participate in the conspiracy and "issued price quotations in accordance with the agreements reached."
The Justice Department has indicted seven people so far in the price fixing scheme, with more indictments possible in the future.
