Dumping Probe on Japanese Robots Resumes

Seoul September 27, 2004; The Korea Times reported that Korea's anti-trust regulator said Thursday it had decided to reopen an investigation into alleged dumping by Japanese robot makers more than eight months after Hyundai Heavy Industries asked for a halt to the investigation, citing a need for further information.

On Aug. 19, Hyundai Heavy Industries once again filed an anti-dumping suit against four Japanese manufacturers of industrial robots, accusing them of selling their products in Korea at prices far lower than those in Japan.

The first request for an investigation was made in July last year.

The Japanese companies were accused of exporting industrial robots to Korea at about 60 to 70 percent of their domestic prices.

The companies cited in the suit were Fanuc Ltd., Yaskawa Electronics Corp., Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. The products in dispute are six-axis articulated robots for car welding and other sophisticated manufacturing work.

In March last year, Fanuc beat out Hyundai Heavy Industries in a multi-million-dollar bid to supply six-axis articulated robots to Hyundai Motor's new auto-manufacturing plant under construction in Alabama.

In South Korea, about 20 industrial robot makers are competing for a market valued at 47 billion won.

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the sole Korean mass-producer of six-axis articulated robots, entered the market in 1986 and has since built about 6,000 industrial robots, capturing 21.3 percent of the local market.

In March last year, the South Korean government announced plans to provide 110 billion won in support to the local industrial robot sector by 2009, selecting it as one of the nation's 16 new engines for economic growth.