SOUTH KOREA (From Maeil Business News Korea) -- The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has slapped a combined fine of 103.9 billion won ($88.6 million) on 45 corrugated board suppliers for profiteering from collaborative price rigging for seven years from 2007.

The antitrust watchdog said Monday it discovered 45 companies, including the industry's leading Tailim Packaging Co. and Asia Paper MFG Co., collusively cut the unit cost of corrugated board paper, which is the core raw material for shipping containers and cardboard boxes, and sold the final product at a fixed higher price between 2007 and 2014.

The industry has been hit with combined fines of 214.8 billion won as of February, the antitrust agency fined 12 companies 110.9 billion won on the same charge.

An unnamed official at the KFTC said that those 45 firms together command around 50 percent to 90 percent of the entire market, suggesting that their price-rigging played a crucial role in determining the price of the pulp.

The 45 pulp and paper makers colluded to hike the prices of corrugated cardboard paper and boxes by up to 25 percent, forcing their main customers such as CJ CheilJedang Corp. and Yuhan-Kimberly Ltd. to buy boxes at rates higher by 6 percent to 20 percent, according to the finding by the antitrust watchdog.

An industry official noted that as price-rigging practice is common in the local pulp industry due to predominant presence of five big players, including Tailim and Asia Paper.