FTC conducts on-site investigation of Arm office in Seoul over alleged unfair market practices: sources

A sign at Fair Trade Commission headquarters in the central city of Sejong / Yonhap

Korea's antitrust watchdog has conducted an on-site investigation at Britain-based chip designer Arm's office in Seoul over its licensing dispute with U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm, sources said Wednesday.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) recently conducted the inspection as part of its ongoing scrutiny over suspicions that Arm is undermining fair competition by limiting access to its technologies for chip architecture after having maintained an open network for years, the sources familiar with the matter said.

The investigation was reportedly opened after Qualcomm filed a complaint against Arm with antitrust regulators of Korea, the United States, the European Union and others in March over such allegations.

The complaint was filed after Arm restricted Qualcomm from using Arm licenses owned by chip design firm Nuvia, which was acquired by the U.S. company in 2021, without its consent.

In September, a U.S. federal court ruled in favor of Qualcomm in its license dispute case against Arm.

The FTC declined to comment on the case.