News / Box lines in legal battle with South Korea’s antitrust body over fines

© Peter Moulton

More than 20 liner operators look set for a protracted legal battle with the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC).

They have filed individual lawsuits with the Seoul High Court, challenging a fine imposed in 2022 for colluding to fix South Korea-South-east Asia tradelanes.

In January 2022, 23 liner operators, including 14 South Korean operators and others including Evergreen, Cosco, Maersk Sealand, Yang Ming, HMM and SM Line, were fined a total of $81m.

The KFTC investigated complaints, from timber traders in July 2018, ...