[DiaryPoint=Reporter Kim Jeong-hun] Sugar supply prices have fallen by as much as 26.5% since South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission fined three sugar makers ₩408.3 billion and ordered them to correct their practices over price fixing.
The commission found that CJ CheilJedang, Samyang Corporation and Daehan Sugar agreed on sugar sales prices eight times between February 2021 and April 2025. Their coordination covered not only price hikes but also the timing and scale of cuts. In addition to the fine, the companies received corrective orders and were told to report price changes for three years.
It takes time for lower wholesale prices to reach shoppers
Food and beverage companies buy sugar in bulk to make products such as drinks and snacks. Lower ingredient costs can ease manufacturing expenses, but retail prices also reflect other ingredients, labor, packaging and transportation. Since cost structures and pricing schedules vary by company, lower sugar prices do not pass through to finished products in full or all at once.
As of early May 2026, the government reported that sugar prices had fallen by as much as 26.5%. Prices of products using sugar as an ingredient, including snacks and instant noodles, fell by up to 14.6%; ice cream prices dropped 13.4%, while bread and cakes were discounted by as much as ₩10,000.
November report focused on the starch-syrup investigation
An interview published in the government’s Policy Briefing on November 13 did not announce a new penalty in the sugar case. It described how leads from the sugar investigation prompted a separate probe into collusion involving starch and starch syrup. The commission found that four starch and starch-syrup makers had agreed on prices from May 2018 to October 2025 and imposed fines totaling ₩747.6 billion in July.
The consumer impact of the sugar case has so far come through the previously announced supply-price cuts and price adjustments to some processed foods. What shoppers see in their grocery bills will depend on prices for individual products and any further changes by manufacturers.