South Korea's corporate watchdog chief said Thursday that his organization is keeping a close eye on the German auto cartel issue in Europe, and will soon conclude whether German automakers have also violated anti-trust laws here.
Kim Sang-jo, who leads the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), said during a parliamentary audit that the officials may start investigating German automakers in South Korea, including Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler, related with their colluding claims raised in Europe.
"We're closely watching on German auto cartel issue and are interested in whether they've also violated laws here," Kim said. "We've yet to contact suspected automakers, but we do share information with foreign regulators. We'll soon make our decision."
Following German news magazine Der Spiegel's report in July, European antitrust authorities recently said they're investigating claims that German automakers have been operating a cartel since the 1990s, colluding on various auto-related projects from price fixing to diesel emissions.
