S Korean antitrust agency fines LCD makers $175m

SEOUL, Oct 30 (AFP): Seoul's antitrust agency said Sunday it had fined 10 of the world's leading flat panel makers in South Korea and Taiwan a total of 194 billion won ($175 million) for price fixing. Firms including Samsung Electronics and LG Display in South Korea and AU Optronics and Chimei Innolux from Taiwan colluded from 2001 to 2006 to control prices of panels for computers and televisions, the Fair Trade Commission said. "They colluded on minimum prices of panels, pricing policies on each product type, timing of price increases and a ban on cash rebates," the FTC said in a statement. The offenders also included Taiwanese and Japanese units of both Samsung Electronics and LG Display as well as Taiwan's Chunghwa Picture Tubes and HannStar Display, it said.