Korean Construction Supervision Firms Fined for Bid Rigging
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has fined 17 construction supervision firms a total of KRW 23.7 billion (USD 17 million) for bid-rigging in 92 public tenders between 2019 and 2023.
The companies colluded by pre-arranging bid winners and using ghost bidders in tenders issued by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation and the Public Procurement Service. The affected tenders, related to public building and housing projects, were worth around KRW 556.7 billion.
Three firms avoided penalties due to minimal involvement, but the KFTC imposed corrective measures on all 20 firms involved.
A Structural Shake-Up in U.S. Antitrust Governance
In a significant move underscoring the United States' deregulatory momentum, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing all federal agencies to identify and propose the repeal or amendment of regulations that restrain competition, facilitate monopolistic structures, or unnecessarily impede market entry. Agencies are required to coordinate with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair and the Attorney General, and to submit their proposals within 70 days.
As part of the initiative, the FTC has been instructed to solicit public input on rules perceived to hinder innovation and entrepreneurship. The feedback will inform the inter-agency review process and guide inclusion of targeted regulations in the Unified Regulatory Agenda, established pursuant to Executive Order 14129.
Shortly following this development, the House Judiciary Committee proposed a major structural change: the transfer of the FTC's antitrust enforcement responsibilities to the Department of Justice (DoJ). The proposal includes funding for the transfer of personnel and pending cases, as well as authorization for the DoJ's Antitrust Division to reorganize the newly consolidated enforcement body. Critics warn that consolidating authority within a single agency could reduce institutional diversity and weaken antitrust oversight.
EU Hits Apple and Meta with Multimillion Euro Fines for DMA Violations
According to a press release dated April 23, 2025, the European Commission has imposed a EUR 500 million fine on Apple and a EUR 200 million penalty on Meta for breaching provisions of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Apple was found to have violated the anti-steering obligation, while Meta failed to offer consumers the option of a service that uses less of their personal data.
The Commission has given both companies 60 days to comply with the decisions, with periodic penalty payments looming in case of non-compliance. Additionally, the investigation into Apple's user choice obligations under the DMA has been closed. Facebook Marketplace, Meta's online intermediation service, will no longer be designated under the DMA.
Google's EUR 900M Comparison Shopping Headache
A EUR 900 million damages claim has been raised against Google before the Amsterdam District Court, representing five comparison shopping services that suffered from the company's anti-competitive conduct. The lawsuit centres on Google's alleged abuse of dominance in the comparison-shopping sector, where it is accused of unfairly promoting its own service while demoting rival platforms in search results.
This claim follows the European Commission's 2017 EUR 2.42 billion fine against Google, which found that the tech giant distorted competition by favouring its own comparison-shopping service. The decision was upheld by the European Court of Justice in 2024.
UK Fines Car Makers Over Recycling Collusion: GBP 77.6M Penalty
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined ten car manufacturers and two trade bodies a total of GBP 77.6 million for anti-competitive behaviour in the car recycling market. Among the companies fined are BMW, Ford, Peugeot Citroen, Toyota, and Volkswagen. Mercedes-Benz avoided penalties by cooperating under the CMA's leniency policy.
The investigation revealed that from 2002 to 2017, these manufacturers colluded to suppress competition by not promoting vehicles with over 85% recyclability and by withholding information about recycled materials used in their cars. Additionally, they participated in a “buyers' cartel,” agreeing not to pay recyclers for handling end-of-life vehicles (ELVs).
ACEA and the SMMT, two industry trade bodies, were also involved in the agreements. The fined companies received a 20% discount on their fines for cooperating with the investigation.
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