GEORGIA
A fugitive for nearly five years who was extradited to the U.S. plead guilty to being involved in a bid-rigging conspiracy involving the sale of instrument panel clusters to several auto makers, according to officials.
Eun Soo Kim, a former key accounts manager for Continental Automotive Korea Ltd. and a Korean national, was extradited from Germany.
“Today’s guilty plea further demonstrates our commitment at the Antitrust Division and shows that neither time nor distance provide refuge for executives who conspire to cheat American consumers,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.
Kim’s extradition is the third extradition based solely on an antitrust charge and the second in as many months.
A fugitive for nearly five years, Kim was apprehended by German authorities in September 2019 in Frankfurt. Kim ultimately consented to extradition and arrived in Atlanta on Feb 28.
Kim appeared before federal Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. and plead guilty on March 2, 2020.
Judge Batten sentenced Kim to nine months in prison with credit for the time he was held in custody pending extradition. He also has been sentenced to pay a $130,000 criminal fine, according to officials.
Kim pleaded guilty to conspiring to allocate sales of, rig bids for, and submit rigged and non-competitive bids for instrument panel clusters sold to Korean automobile producers and their subsidiaries in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Instrument panel clusters are a set of instruments located on the dashboard of a vehicle that contain gauges such as the speedometer, tachometer, odometer, and fuel gauge, as well as warning indicators for gearshift position, seat belt, parking-brake engagement, engine malfunction, low fuel, low oil pressure, and low tire pressure.
Kim participated in the conspiracy from at least as early as February 2008 until as late as May 2012.
Including Kim, more than 100 companies and executives have been charged in the Justice Department’s investigation into the automotive parts industry.
More than $2.9 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and 32 individuals have been sentenced to pay criminal fines and to serve prison sentences ranging from a year and a day to two years.
Kim was charged with bid rigging in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries maximum penalties of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals.