South Korea anti-trust watchdog fines US company for unfair business practices

By Anadolu staff

South Korea's antitrust watchdog on Thursday imposed a 19.1 billion won ($14.3 million) fine on US chipmaker Broadcom for unfair business practices against Samsung, Yonhap news agency reported.

Broadcom forced Samsung to sign a long-term agreement in 2020 by taking advantage of its market dominance and using unlawful tactics, including cutting off its supply and technical support, Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said.

The US company compelled Samsung to procure its smartphone parts worth $760 million annually from 2021 to 2023, and required the South Korean tech giant to compensate for any shortfall if the purchasing amount fell below that figure.

The deal, however, ended in August 2021.

"Broadcom is a company which holds an overwhelming market share in the market for cutting-edge and high-performance mobile device parts that are used in smartphones and tablet PCs," the FTC said.

"(The company) used unfair tactics, including suspending order approvals, shipments and technical support, to force Samsung Electronics to sign a long-term agreement," it added.​​​​​​​