{
  "id": 12530563,
  "title": "Watchdog begins deliberations on oil refiners over alleged price rigging",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/watchdog-begins-deliberations-on-oil-refiners-over-alleged-price",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-07T03:12:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/economy/20261007/watchdog-begins-deliberations-on-oil-refiners-over-alleged-price-rigging"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Korea Times reports that South Korea's antitrust watchdog, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), has begun deliberations into alleged price rigging by two local oil refiners, SK Energy Co. and HD Hyundai Oilbank Co. According to the FTC's examiners' report, the companies exchanged information on their sales policies from February 2022 until March 2026, coinciding with the Russia-Ukraine war and the subsequent U.S.-Iran conflict. The report alleges that the companies rigged prices for gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, resulting in an estimated 44.1 trillion won ($33.2 billion) in relevant sales, or around 30 billion won per day. The practice of setting prices while exchanging information is said to have unfairly restricted competition, violating the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act. The FTC's deliberations will likely result in fines and corrective orders against the two companies.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Watchdog begins deliberations on oil refiners over alleged price rigging",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/watchdog-begins-deliberations-on-oil-refiners-over-alleged-price-12530825",
        "published": "2026-10-07T03:00:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Watchdog begins deliberations on oil refiners over alleged price rigging",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/watchdog-begins-deliberations-on-oil-refiners-over-alleged-price-12533808",
        "published": "2026-10-07T03:32:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}