A former Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. executive agreed to plead guilty of playing a role in a global conspiracy to fix flat panel prices, making him the latest in a line of former executives implicated in the case, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Wednesday. In a statement, the DOJ said Kuo Cheng-lung, the former vice president of sales at the Taiwanese thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) firm, agreed to serve jail time of nine months and pay a criminal fine of US$35,000. Under the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Kuo also agreed to help the DOJ continue the antitrust investigation. Kuo is the fourth Chi Mei executive to plead guilty of participating in the alleged price fixing, which is said to have taken place between April 2004 and December 2006. Chi Mei was renamed Chimei Innolux Corp. in March after a merger with Innolux Display Corp. and TPO Displays Corporation. Chimei Innolux declined to comment on Kuo's plea. Kuo retained a position in Chimei Innolux after the new company was formed, but Chimei Innolux declined to elaborate on Kuo's current job at the company. According to a one-count felony charge filed at a U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Kuo conspired with others to suppress and undermine competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels. The charges allege he and others agreed to charge predetermined prices for TFT- LCD panels, exchanged information on TFT-LCD panel sales, and issued price quotations to adhere to the agreed-upon prices. Kuo has been charged with violating the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a US$1 million fine for individuals. Including Kuo, a total of 19 executives and eight companies in Taiwan, Japan and South Korea have been indicted by the DOJ in the case and more than US$890 million in criminal fines have been obtained, the department said. 