"100원 올린다..우리 2조 벌듯" '트럼프 만세' 충격 메시지 공개 / SBS 8뉴스

Anchor Four domestic oil refineries and their executives have been indicted for colluding to raise oil prices, using the war between the U.S. and Iran as a pretext. In their group chat rooms, phrases such as "companies that make a living from war" and "Long live Trump" were exchanged. Reporter Jeon Yeon-nam reports. Reporter Last March, the average price of gasoline in Seoul soared well past 1,800 won per liter. At the time, it was analyzed that the surge in oil prices was due to the war between the U.S. and Iran, but a prosecution investigation revealed that organized collusion among domestic oil refineries was behind it. The prosecution stated that the scale of the collusion led by HD Hyundai Oilbank and SK Energy amounted to 14.2 trillion won. Considering that GS Caltex and S-Oil raised their oil prices by referencing the two companies' collusive prices, the effect of anti-competitive collusion amounted to approximately 26 trillion won. The prosecution's assessment is that there was no reason for prices to skyrocket at the time, as the four major oil refineries had stockpiled substantial amounts of crude oil. In this regard, investigations revealed that messages were exchanged in a chat room within the pricing department of one oil company, stating, "As expected, a company that lives off war; long live Trump," and "We are raising prices by another 100 won today. We look like we will earn 2 trillion won this year." [Na Hee-seok / Head of Fair Trade Investigation Department, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office: The surge in oil prices immediately following the war revealed that collusive practices, already chronic in the industry, manifested in a more blatant form by taking advantage of the economic crisis.] The prosecution also viewed the unfair distribution process as problematic, where oil companies unilaterally set the purchase price, forcing small gas stations to receive all products and settle final payments at the fixed price set by the refineries at the end of the month. This is because the structure forces gas stations to raise their selling prices since they lose the opportunity to purchase at lower prices, a burden that is ultimately passed on to consumers. The prosecution announced that it has referred four oil refineries and four executives and employees to trial on charges including violations of the Fair Trade Act. (Video Coverage: Yang Hyun-chul, Video Editing: Jung Yong-hwa) #SBSNews #News #Realtime Copyright Ⓒ SBS. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use for AI learning are prohibited.