Two former electronics executives from Taiwan and one from South Korea were charged Tuesday with taking part in a global price-fixing conspiracy, the US Justice Department said.
A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted former Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. executives Cheng Yuan Lin and Wen Jun Cheng, and Duk Mo Koo, a former LG Display Co. Ltd. executive, the department said in a statement.
They are alleged to have taken part in a global conspiracy to fix prices of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panels between September 2001 and December 2006.
LCD panels are widely used in electronic devices including computer monitors, televisions and mobile phones.
According to the Justice Department, Cheng Yuan Lin, also known as C.Y. Lin, is a former chairman and chief executive of Chunghwa while Wen Jun Cheng, also known as Tony Cheng, served as Chunghwa's assistant vice president of sales and marketing. Duk Mo Koo is a former executive vice president and chief sales officer for LG Display.
If convicted, they could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines of US$1 million.
"The Antitrust Division will vigorously pursue individuals who engage in antitrust crimes targeting US businesses and consumers no matter where those individuals live or commit the crime," said acting assistant attorney general Scott Hammond.
"Today's charges should make clear that there are no safe havens for international cartels that violate the US antitrust laws," he added.
Tuesday's charges bring to seven the number of individuals who have been indicted in connection with the case.
Three senior Chunghwa executives from Taiwan and one LG executive from South Korea agreed last month to serve terms in a US prison ranging from six to nine months for their roles in the conspiracy and pay fines of up to US$50,000.
The Justice Department has imposed fines totalling US$585 million on LG, Chunghwa and Sharp Corp. of Japan in connection with the case.
It announced November 12 that LG Display, formerly known as LG Philips LCD Co. Ltd, had agreed to plead guilty to price-fixing and pay a fine of US$400 million, the second-largest in US antitrust division history.
Chunghwa was fined US$65 million while Sharp agreed to pay a US$120-million fine.
According to the Justice Department, LG Display engaged in price-fixing between 2001 and 2006 involving LCD panels sold worldwide.
It said Sharp was involved in price-fixing during the same period for LCDs sold to Dell for its computer monitors and laptops, Motorola for its Razr mobile phones, and Apple for its iPod portable music player.
Chunghwa was accused of fixing the prices of LCD panels sold worldwide from 2001 to 2006.
The companies held meetings and exchanged information to reach agreement on price quotations, according to the Justice Department.
The fine levied on LG Display is the second-largest after the record antitrust fine of US$500 million handed down against Swiss pharmaceutical giant F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. in 1999 for fixing vitamin prices.
A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted former Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. executives Cheng Yuan Lin and Wen Jun Cheng, and Duk Mo Koo, a former LG Display Co. Ltd. executive, the department said in a statement.
They are alleged to have taken part in a global conspiracy to fix prices of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panels between September 2001 and December 2006.
LCD panels are widely used in electronic devices including computer monitors, televisions and mobile phones.
According to the Justice Department, Cheng Yuan Lin, also known as C.Y. Lin, is a former chairman and chief executive of Chunghwa while Wen Jun Cheng, also known as Tony Cheng, served as Chunghwa's assistant vice president of sales and marketing. Duk Mo Koo is a former executive vice president and chief sales officer for LG Display.
If convicted, they could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines of US$1 million.
"The Antitrust Division will vigorously pursue individuals who engage in antitrust crimes targeting US businesses and consumers no matter where those individuals live or commit the crime," said acting assistant attorney general Scott Hammond.
"Today's charges should make clear that there are no safe havens for international cartels that violate the US antitrust laws," he added.
Tuesday's charges bring to seven the number of individuals who have been indicted in connection with the case.
Three senior Chunghwa executives from Taiwan and one LG executive from South Korea agreed last month to serve terms in a US prison ranging from six to nine months for their roles in the conspiracy and pay fines of up to US$50,000.
The Justice Department has imposed fines totalling US$585 million on LG, Chunghwa and Sharp Corp. of Japan in connection with the case.
It announced November 12 that LG Display, formerly known as LG Philips LCD Co. Ltd, had agreed to plead guilty to price-fixing and pay a fine of US$400 million, the second-largest in US antitrust division history.
Chunghwa was fined US$65 million while Sharp agreed to pay a US$120-million fine.
According to the Justice Department, LG Display engaged in price-fixing between 2001 and 2006 involving LCD panels sold worldwide.
It said Sharp was involved in price-fixing during the same period for LCDs sold to Dell for its computer monitors and laptops, Motorola for its Razr mobile phones, and Apple for its iPod portable music player.
Chunghwa was accused of fixing the prices of LCD panels sold worldwide from 2001 to 2006.
The companies held meetings and exchanged information to reach agreement on price quotations, according to the Justice Department.
The fine levied on LG Display is the second-largest after the record antitrust fine of US$500 million handed down against Swiss pharmaceutical giant F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. in 1999 for fixing vitamin prices.
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