Broadcom may face massive penalty on charges of abusing dominant power

FTC chief Joh Sung-wook. [Photo by Yonhap]

Broadcom Inc., a global semiconductor supplier, may be slapped with massive penalty as part of South Korea’s antitrust watchdog’s punitive actions for charges of abusing its dominant market position against Korean companies, including Samsung Electronics.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday announced that it has completed investigation on allegations that Broadcom violated Korea’s fair trade laws by forcing Korean smart device makers to sign long-term contracts for use of its chip solutions.

The FTC will soon convene a full review session on the case after the global chip maker submits its opinions and then will decide on sanctions against the company after thorough deliberations, it added. The FTC’s probe on the case began in 2019.

It is anticipated that Broadcom would be hit by huge penalties like Qualcomm that was slapped with 1.03 trillion won ($831 million) penalty by the FTC in 2016 for abusing its market dominance. FTC chief Joh Sung-wook on Thursday also warned that the antitrust regulator will speed up its investigation into unfair business activities by global tech giants in the semiconductor market like abusing their dominant market position.

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