Meeting Held to Prevent Bid Rigging in School Uniform Procurement

-Major school uniform manufacturers discuss measures to prevent bid rigging ahead of the new school year -

August 10, 2026

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC,  Chairperson Biung-Ghi Ju) held a meeting to prevent bid rigging in school uniform procurement on August 10 (Monday) at the Seoul-Gangwon Branch of the Korea Consumer Agency, with five school uniform manufacturers in attendance: Hyungji Elite Co., Ltd., Ivy Club Co., Ltd., The Engine Co., Ltd. (School Looks), Smart F&D Co., Ltd., and Hojeon Retail Co., Ltd. (Ssenten).

The meeting was organized as school uniform bidding for the new school year gets underway to once again raise awareness across the school uniform industry of the risks of bid rigging and to discuss measures to prevent collusion.

At the meeting, the KFTC shared with industry representatives the progress of its monitoring of potential signs of collusion in school uniform bidding, which has been underway since May, and called for thorough preventive measures. Each school uniform manufacturer then presented its own compliance measures to prevent bid rigging ahead of the new school year, including expanding compliance training, distributing sales guidelines, and strengthening internal inspections, followed by an open exchange of views.

Oh Haeng-rok, Director General of the KFTC’€™s Cartel Investigation Bureau, stated at the meeting, ”Efforts across the entire industry are essential to eradicate the chronic bid rigging that has repeatedly occurred in the school uniform market.€”He added, “We ask for the active cooperation of school uniform manufacturers so that a sound competitive environment can become firmly established in the school uniform market.“

Meanwhile, in response to concerns over high school uniform prices resulting from customary collusion in the school uniform industry, the KFTC established ”Plan for Investigating and Taking Measures against Bid Rigging in School Uniform Procurement“ following a Cabinet meeting in May. It subsequently began monitoring school uniform retailers for signs of collusion. The KFTC is also working through municipal and provincial offices of education to provide school uniform retailers with guidance on compliance with the Fair Trade Act, in order to prevent retailers from continuing customary collusive practices without fully understanding the requirements of the Act.

In addition, examiner‘s reports concerning bid-rigging cases involving school uniform retailers in three regions-Ulsan, Yongin (Giheung and Cheoin), and Yeongcheon- which were identified through the KFTC‘s own investigations in the first half of this year, were submitted to the Commission in June. Deliberation proceedings on these cases are expected to commence.