KT&G, the market leader in South Korea,  is accused of taking down competitors' advertising material and pressuring small retailers to sell only KT&G products.

According to the nation's antitrust watchdog, KT&G has been slapped with a fine of around KRW 100 million (EUR 62,700) for unfairly inducing cigarette buyers.
The case was opened by global tobacco maker British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea in May last year, in which it reported that KT&G offered incentives to small retailers that did not display BAT products.
The Fair Trade Commission's (FTC) ruling is the first-ever unfair trade penalty handed to KT&G since its founding. However, industry sources say this may be the first of many to come.
Woori Tobacco, the newest player in the local cigarette market, said that it is preparing several lawsuits against KT&G's interference in blocking its market entrance.
Park Ji-gu, a spokesman of Woori Tobacco pointed to the bribing of retailers and trashing of Woori's promotion materials as some of its competitor's “wrongdoings.”
Separately, sources say the FTC is looking into another probe surrounding the No. 1 player's unfair monopoly methods of competition with Woori Tobacco.
KT&G distanced itself from the accusations claiming that they were practices carried out by its sales agents independently. “We're not aware of our sales staffers' every move, but we make efforts to regulate activities that cross the line,” said a company spokesman. (pi)