Twelve Chinese restaurants in the Seoul metropolitan area have filed a damages lawsuit against seven domestic flour milling companies, alleging they suffered financial losses due to a flour price-fixing cartel, according to legal sources cited by ChosunBiz and the Herald Corporation.
The Korean flour price-fixing lawsuit, filed on 26 July by law firm LKB Pyeongsan, targets CJ CheilJedang, Daehan Flour Mills, Sajo Dongaone, Samyang Corporation, Daeseon Flour Mills, Samhwa Flour Mills and Hantop. The plaintiffs are seeking KR₩1 million (approximately US$680) each initially, with plans to increase the claim after reviewing actual purchase records and normal market prices.
The legal action follows a May 2026 decision by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC), which imposed a total penalty surcharge of KR₩671 billion (approximately US$457 million) on the seven companies. The FTC found that the millers had colluded on flour supply prices and volumes 24 times over approximately six years, from November 2019 to October 2025, resulting in flour price increases of between 38 percent and 74 percent.
“Flour is a core ingredient for Chinese restaurant owners, used in dishes such as jjajangmyeon, mandu and sweet-and-sour pork,” the plaintiffs stated. “As flour prices kept rising, we had no choice but to raise menu prices, and we had to bear the risk of falling sales and losing customers.”
Attorney Jeong Tae-won of LKB Pyeongsan said: “The burden created by the cartel among companies with oligopolistic market power was passed on to small business owners and consumers.” He added that he hoped the companies would “actively negotiate with affected businesses to reach a swift agreement and offer compensation.”
The plaintiffs purchased flour through wholesalers during the cartel period, spending between approximately KR₩10.47 million (US$7140) and KR₩99.54 million (US$67,800) each.
