Top court finalizes $760.8 mil. fine for Qualcomm over unfair biz practice

A Qualcomm sign is pictured at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai, China in this June 28, 2019 file photo. Reuters-Yonhap

The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized a ruling in favor of the Korean antitrust regulator's fine of 1 trillion won ($760.8 million) imposed in 2016 on U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm for unfair business practices.

The fine was imposed by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) which concluded in December 2016 that the San Diego-based company and its two affiliates breached Korea's competition law by refusing to offer licenses to chipset manufacturers and demanding high fees for patents used by smartphone makers. The agency had accused Qualcomm of abusing its dominant position in mobile communication markets.

The top court on Thursday upheld the Seoul High Court's previous ruling that sided with the FTC decision in a suit filed by Qualcomm seeking to reverse the fine. (Yonhap)