We mentioned in a previous article that 2015 isn’t shaping up to be a good year for Qualcomm. Not only have overheating issues with its latest chip caused it to possibly lose its biggest partner, Samsung, the company was forced to pay nearly $1 billion in anti-trust fines to the Chinese government earlier this week. Now things are getting even worse as the company could be facing similar fines in South Korea.
Qualcomm Inc. might face an antitrust investigation in South Korea—not for the first time—underscoring its continuing legal issues after accepting a settlement with China earlier this week. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission said Thursday it is considering an investigation into whether the big chip maker abused its dominant position in the market for smartphone technology. The agency in 2009 fined the company about $235 million after a three-year investigation, a ruling that is still under appeal. A spokesman for the commission declined to discuss details of the latest potential investigation. Local media reports said the probe might focus on whether Qualcomm violated antitrust regulations in collecting royalty payments for its patents.
