SEOUL--South Korean consumer-electronics maker LG Electronics
Inc. (066570.SE) said Thursday it will appeal the European
Commission's decision to fine the company for its alleged
participation in price-fixing cartels in television and computer
parts.
LG Electronics was among seven companies that were fined a
record 1.47 billion euros ($1.92 billion) by European regulators
Wednesday for operating price-fixing cartels for cathode ray tubes,
the main component in color TV and computer screens before the
advent of plasma and liquid crystal display screens.
The South Korean company said in a press release the European
Commission had fined it a total 492 million euros for allegedly
infringing European competition law relating to the sale of the
parts starting in the late 1990s and lasting until 2006.
It added it disagrees with the fine, which comprises a 296
million euro penalty on LG alone and a further 392 million euro
fine that the South Korean company must share with Philips
Electronics NV for a 50-50 joint venture the two companies set up
in 2001 called LG Philips Displays.
"Other leading competition authorities, including the Korean
Fair Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and the
Canadian Competition Bureau have investigated the same facts and
concluded that LG Electronics should not be held liable for the
conduct of LG Philips Displays," John Kwon, executive vice
president of LG Electronics, said in the release.
He added the company can't understand why the European
Commission has taken a wholly different approach compared with
other authorities.
The European Commission also fined South Korean display maker
Samsung SDI Co. (006400.SE). A spokesman for the company said
Thursday Samsung SDI has yet to decide on whether to appeal the
European Commission's decision.
Write to Min-Jeong Lee at min-jeong.lee@dowjones.com
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