Qualcomm Faces Huge Penalty
The Supreme Court of South Korea dismissed the re-appeal regarding the request for a stay of execution made by Qualcomm, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., and Qualcomm CDMA Technologies Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd on November 27.
Earlier, on January 20, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) imposed a fine of 1.0311 trillion won (US$900 million) along with a corrective order, claiming that Qualcomm and the two subsidiaries hindered business activities of rival modem chipset manufacturers by using their dominant position in the market.
On February 21, Qualcomm and the subsidiaries filed a suit for revocation with the Seoul High Court, requesting the stay of execution. The court turned down the request on September 4, and then Qualcomm and the subsidiaries lodged the re-appeal.
The recent decision by the Supreme Court is likely to affect the revocation litigation currently underway at the Seoul High Court. “The decision by the Supreme Court means that Qualcomm and the subsidiaries have to follow the corrective order,” the KFTC explained, adding, “At the same time, it means it is likely that they have violated a law and the KFTC can take part in the lawsuit on the merits with a greater chance to win.”