South Korea may impose anti-dumping duties on Malaysian plywood to prevent local firms from the Southeast Asian country underselling the construction material, Yonhap news agency quoted the government as saying Thursday.

The Korea Trade Commission (KTC), under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, said it has decided to request the finance minister to approve the imposition of anti-dumping duties of 5.12-38.1 percent on Malaysian veneer for three years.

The decision came after the KTC found in its 10-month investigation that local plywood makers had been damaged by imports of Malaysian rivals who sold the products at unfairly low prices, the commission said.

The probe came on the heels of local trade group Korea Wood Panel Association's complaint with the KTC and request for actions to tackle the unfair imports.

The commission adopted preliminary anti-dumping duties on Malaysian plywood in July while preparing for a formal decision.

The local market for plywood, a wood board made from thin sheets of wood glued together, reached 700bil won (US$604mil) in value as of 2009 with local manufacturers accounting for a 35 percent share while Malaysian products represented 30 percent.

Plywood is most commonly used at construction sites as molds or casts for cement. It is also used to make furniture and floors in homes.