The antitrust watchdog has launched a nationwide investigation into school uniform manufacturers over alleged collusion following controversies over high prices, its chief said Thursday. "We have mobilized the headquarters and five regional offices to quickly carry out a nationwide investigation targeting four school uniform manufacturers and around 40 dealerships," Ju Biung-ghi, chairman of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), said during a ministerial-level task force meeting on stabilizing consumer prices. Ju added that school uniforms have long been cited for habitual collusion, adding that the agency plans to submit the case of alleged violations for review next month. The suspected case centers around allegations that school uniform suppliers secretly conspired with bidders during middle- and high-school uniform tenders in the southern city of Gwangju in 2023. The move follows a call by President Lee Jae Myung last week when he called for tougher penalties against deeply rooted practices of secretly conspiring with industry rivals to collude on prices in commodities, such as school uni