Paper firms' cartel fines slashed months after record penalties — Hansol fully exempted, Moorim halved

Paper manufacturers hit with hundreds of billions of won in fines over a printing paper price-fixing cartel have had their penalties waived or reduced, industry filings show. Hansol Paper was fully exempted from its 142.5 billion won ($103 million) fine, while Moorim P&P and Moorim Paper each had their penalties cut by tens of billions of won. Korea Paper, by contrast, had its 49 billion won fine confirmed in full.

According to industry sources and regulatory disclosures, Hansol Paper filed a corrected disclosure on June 12, revising the fine it had previously reported based on the Fair Trade Commission's April 23 press release. The original 142.5 billion won penalty had represented 20.44 percent of the company's consolidated equity of 697.6 billion won as of end-2025.

The correction spares Hansol Paper a massive cash outflow that would have accompanied payment of the fine. The company had faced the largest individual penalty among the paper firms when the sanctions were announced in April, and its exemption has significantly reshuffled the industry's fine landscape.

Moorim affiliates also received reductions. Moorim P&P filed a corrected disclosure on June 12, lowering its fine from 91.9 billion won to 57.4 billion won — a reduction of 34.4 billion won. The penalty as a share of equity fell from 15.15 percent to 9.47 percent, with a payment deadline of Aug. 19.

Moorim Paper likewise disclosed on June 12 that its fine had been cut from 45.8 billion won to 28.6 billion won, a reduction of 17.1 billion won. Its equity ratio dropped from 6.60 percent to 4.12 percent, and its payment deadline is also Aug. 19.

Taken together, the confirmed reductions for Hansol Paper, Moorim P&P and Moorim Paper amount to 194.2 billion won less than the figures announced in April — comprising Hansol Paper's full 142.5 billion won exemption and the combined 51.6 billion won reduction for the two Moorim units.

Korea Paper received no reduction. The company confirmed a 49 billion won fine in a corrected disclosure on June 12, with a payment deadline of Aug. 19 and an equity ratio of 12.08 percent. Korea Paper was one of two companies the Fair Trade Commission referred to prosecutors when it announced the sanctions in April. Unlisted Hongwon Paper had been fined 8.5 billion won.

The Fair Trade Commission said in April that six companies — Hansol Paper, Moorim SP, Moorim Paper, Moorim P&P, Korea Paper and Hongwon Paper — had colluded from February 2021 through December 2024, a period of three years and 10 months, agreeing to raise printing paper prices and narrow discount rates. The cartel covered all printing paper categories, including woodfree uncoated, mechanical uncoated and coated art paper.

The fines the commission announced at the time were: Hansol Paper 142.5 billion won, Moorim P&P 91.9 billion won, Korea Paper 49 billion won, Moorim Paper 45.8 billion won, Hongwon Paper 8.5 billion won and Moorim SP 300 million won. The commission said the six companies had agreed on seven rounds of price increases or discount reductions through more than 60 meetings, and that printing paper prices had risen an average of 71 percent during the collusion period.

Meanwhile, President Lee Jae-myung had publicly rebuked Fair Trade Commission Chairman Joo Byung-ki at a Cabinet meeting on Feb. 3, saying, "My understanding is that fines of up to 20 percent of the cartel amount can be imposed — why was only 7 percent levied?" He also questioned why action was being delayed, saying, "Why wait until the first half of the year? It can be done right now," and added, "The bell has to ring loud enough to startle — that's what a real warning looks like."