Prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted 14 builders and their executives concerned on charges of engaging in collusive bidding for the construction of a high-speed railroad connecting Seoul and the southwestern part of the country.
   
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office said the indicted companies include Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Daelim Industrial Co. and GS Engineering & Construction Corp.
   
Prosecutors also summarily indicted six other builders, including Samsung Heavy Industries Co., with fines up to 50 million won (US$46,000) and seven officials with fines up to 30 million won.
   
The companies are suspected of rigging their bids for the construction of rail tracks on 13 out of the 19 sections, which are 184.5 kilometers long. The 8.35 trillion won project began in 2006 and is expected to be completed this year. 
   
The sections are part of the Honam High Speed Railway linking the country's capital with the southwestern port city of Mokpo.
   
Prosecutors said officials at the seven largest companies held a meeting near Seoul Station upon hearing about the project and decided to "minimize unnecessary competition and have every company win a bid."
   
They then divided the builders into three groups, allocated four or five subsections each, and had a raffle to determine which builder would be assigned to which section.
   
Those who missed out on the bid were allowed to work alongside other companies or were guaranteed a spot in the next project, prosecutors said.
   
In July, the Fair Trade Commission, the anti-trust watchdog, fined a combined 435.5 billion won to 28 builders that were found to have colluded in the scheme. The amount was the largest in the construction industry and the second-largest in South Korean history.
   
Seven of the 28 companies, however, were found either not guilty or subject to leniency for having turned themselves in, prosecutors said. (Yonhap)