South Korea slaps Intel with £13m antitrust fine
Published: 05 Jun 2008 08:24 BST
South Korea's antitrust regulator announced on Wednesday that it would fine Intel $25.4m (£13m) for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the local chip market.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said in a statement that the chip giant had offered rebates to two PC makers in South Korea in return for not buying processors from rival AMD. Regulators also ordered Intel to stop offering the rebates.
Bruce Sewell, general counsel for Intel, criticised the ruling, and told The Wall Street Journal that the company is likely to appeal the KFTC's ruling. "The conduct they're seeking to attack is the conduct at the heart of competition. It is offering lower prices in order to sell your products," he said.
The charges mirror those Intel faces from the European Commission, which has also alleged that the chip giant violated antitrust laws by abusing its dominant market position.
The KFTC charged Intel with violating South Korean antitrust laws last year after completing a two-year probe.
Credit: South Korea regulators fine Intel $25 million from CNET News.com









