Three Korean executives from Hitachi-LG Data Storage Inc. have agreed to plead guilty to rigging bids and fixing prices on optical disk drives used in computers and other electronic devices, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The executives will serve prison time in the U.S., the department said. The charges were filed in a San Francisco federal court.

Earlier this year, the company, a joint venture between Hitachi Ltd. (HIT, 6501.TO) and LG Electronics Inc. (066570.SE), pleaded guilty to related charges and was sentenced to pay a $21 million criminal fine.

Prosecutors said the company and unnamed co-conspirators rigged the bidding process on drives they sold to Dell Inc. (DELL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ).

Optical disk drives are used in everyday consumer products such as personal computers, DVD and Blu-ray disk players, and videogame consoles.

The executives charged Tuesday were Young Keun Park, Sang Hun Kim and Sik Hur.

Prosecutors said the executives participated in bid-rigging and price-fixing conspiracies at various times between 2005 and 2009.

Lawyers for the executives could not immediately be identified. A spokesman for Hitachi America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222; brent.kendall@dowjones.com

Hitachi (NYSE:HIT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2025 to Mar 2025 Click Here for more Hitachi Charts.
Hitachi (NYSE:HIT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Mar 2025 Click Here for more Hitachi Charts.