Rice cooker maker Cuchen fined over unfair biz practice

SEOUL, April 20 (Yonhap) -- Cuchen Co., a South Korean home appliance maker, faced 922 million won (US$747,042) in fines for arbitrarily transferring a subcontractor's technology data to other firms, the antitrust regulator said Wednesday.

Cuchen, known as a major rice cooker brand, received 13 kinds of technology data from its subcontractor that manufactures printed wiring board for its household appliances between 2015 and 2018.

As the subcontractor asked for higher prices for its component, Cuchen sent the data to the subcontractor's competitors multiple times from 2018 through 2019 to cancel the supply contract with the subcontractor and make a deal with new firms, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).

Those unfair practices finally led to the termination of the contract between Cuchen and the subcontractor in 2019.

The FTC said the subcontractor gave its technology data to Cuchen based on trust in its business relationship with Cuchen, but the home appliance maker misused the subcontractor's sensitive technology data for its own interests.

The regulator also decided to refer the case to the prosecution for further probe on who had instructed the alleged illegal acts.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
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