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| 2026-02-19 16:49:01
(LEAD) Lee-senior aides
(LEAD) Lee calls for tougher penalties against price collusion
(ATTN: ADDS more info in last 5 paras; RECASTS lead para)
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday called for tougher penalties against deeply rooted practices of secretly conspiring with industry rivals to collude on prices in commodities, including sugar, flour, school uniforms and homes.
Lee made the remarks at a meeting with senior aides as the government has stepped up measures to curb housing prices.
During the meeting, Lee said practices of price fixing in such fields were rampant and have undermined the market's trust and development.
"Such practices of price fixing that exploit market dominance are a cancerous force that hinders fair competition and undermines trust in the market and hampers national economic development," Lee said.
Lee added that "permanent expulsion" from the market should be actively considered for those who repeatedly engage in such practices.
"Penalties should also take the form of substantive economic measures, including imposing stronger financial penalties or confiscating their gains, rather than relying on merely formal penalties such as criminal punishment," he said.
Lee also called for efforts to build an "economy for all" that establishes a rational and fair social order and to overcome what he called a "disastrous" real estate-dominated system that fuels inequality and despair.
He then vowed to move forward with such efforts as the nation's "foremost servant" and called for cooperation from political leaders.
His remarks were seen as reaffirming his commitment to rein in the overheated real estate market.
Lee has repeatedly urged owners of multiple homes to sell their properties ahead of the planned expiration of the heavy capital gains tax exemptions, which are set to expire in May.
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