According to press reports including a detailed article in The Korea Herald, the Fair Trade Commission of South Korea imposed fines totaling $150 million on sixteen broiler companies. It was alleged that the companies colluded between November 2005 and July 2017 to fix prices. The companies involved represent close to 80 percent of national production. Harim, the largest producer was ordered to pay $33 million with lesser amounts assigned to smaller producers.
In addition to the civil penalties, the Commission has forwarded documentation to the equivalent of the U.S. Department of Justice to consider criminal prosecutions.
In 2021, the Fair Trade Commission in South Korea imposed fines totaling $21 million on seven broiler companies for colluding to coordinate the price of ginseng chicken soup over a six-year period. Again, Harim paid the largest fine based on their output.
Collusion among large companies within an industry is common in Korea, but Government policy disfavors traditional business practices and supports free enterprise and competition for the benefit of consumers.
Harim is the owner of Allen Harim that acquired Allen Family Foods in 2011 in a bankruptcy sale and the Company now functions as Harim Allen. The multi-generational family-owned enterprise was established in 1919 in Seaford, DE.