Korean Executive to Plead Guilty to Fixing Optical Drive Prices
An executive of Korea's Hitachi-LG Data Storage Inc. (HLDS) agreed to plead guilty and serve time in a U.S. prison for participating in a series of conspiracies to rig bids for the sale of optical disk drives, the Department of Justice said April 30.
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A four-count felony charge filed in the U.S. District Court, San Francisco, said Senior Sales Manager Woo Jin Yang, also known as Eugene Yang, conspired with others to suppress and eliminate competition by rigging bids for optical disk drives sold to Hewlett-Packard Co. between 2006 and 2009. Yang has agreed to serve six months in prison, pay a $25,000 fine and cooperate with the department’s ongoing investigation. HLDS is a joint venture between Hitachi Ltd, a Japanese corporation, and LG Electronics Inc., a Republic of Korea corporation.
So far, the department has charged four individuals, including Yang, and one company following its ongoing investigation into the optical disk drive industry. HLDS pleaded guilty in November to 14 counts of violating the federal antitrust laws between 2004 and 2009 (See ITT Online Archives 11121510). HLDS was sentenced to pay a $21.1 million criminal fine and agreed to assist the department in its ongoing investigation.