Qualcomm Inc. said officials from the Korean Fair Trade Commission visited its offices in Korea, as well as the offices of its chip customers Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., LG Electronics Co. Ltd. and Pantech Curitel.
Qualcomm said the KFTC “declined to provide an explanation of the reason for the inquiry or its focus.”
However, Qualcomm said it assumed that the visit was related to a complaint from a small, unnamed Korean company that related to Qualcomm’s distribution of mobile video software, which can be used in its chipsets.
“Qualcomm’s business practices are lawful and pro-competitive,” said Steve Altman, president of Qualcomm. “We have earned our commercial success through innovation, technological leadership, years of hard work and sustained R&D investment, and by consistently offering the best, most advanced chipsets and software at competitive prices.”
Qualcomm made it a point to say that the visit may not be tied to complaints lodged with the European Commission last year about Qualcomm’s alleged anticompetitive business practices.
Qualcomm said the KFTC “has not said that the inquiry is related in any way” to the EU complaints.
Broadcom Corp., Nokia Corp., Texas Instruments Inc. and others last year filed complaints with European regulators over Qualcomm’s licensing practices.
The companies allege Qualcomm has managed to squash competition through its W-CDMA licensing practices.
Qualcomm’s stock was down slightly after the news to about $51 per share. Qualcomm has a major foothold in South Korea with its CDMA technology.
