Qualcomm facing record fine in South Korea for breaching fair trade rules
Qualcomm is facing a $900 million fine in South Korea after its Fair Trade Commission found that the California-based chipset company had charged smartphone manufacturers unfairly for its mobile processors.
The company was found guilty of breaching fair trade rules at the conclusion of the agency’s 17-month investigation. Qualcomm charged Samsung, LG and other South Korean smartphone manufacturers higher licensing fees than it should have for its mobile processors. The company used the wholesale price of a smartphone to calculate the fees as opposed to the actual cost of the chips.