Lawsuit filed against Samsung, SK in US

Samsung Electronics' semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Korea Times file

By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron Technology, which control nearly 100 percent of the global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market, faced a U.S. court over their alleged involvement in DRAM price fixing.

A lawsuit filed in a court in San Jose, California, claimed that the memory chip manufacturers collectively cut DRAM chip supply to the market, resulting an increase in prices. The lawsuit also alleged the three semiconductor companies of benefitting in terms of profits because of the action.

Samsung Electronics' headquarters, its chip business unit, SK's headquarters and U.S. affiliate as well as two Micron Technology affiliates were included in the lawsuit. 14 individual plaintiffs, who purchased DRAM chips and laptops, also insisted that they paid artificially inflated prices for electronic devices and thereby suffered from antitrust practices because of the alleged reduction in chip supply. The class action lawsuit is being represented by attorneys at the U.S. law firm of Hagens Berman.

Specifically, the lawsuit has been filed on behalf of American consumers of mobile phones and PCs purchased between 2016 and 2017. The DRAM chip price surged more than 130 percent during the given period and helped the three tech firms see their profits double, according to the U.S. law firm.

DRAM is used in all digital devices. The global DRAM market underwent a realignment after the late 2000s with the defendants coming to the lead in the market. Samsung and SK earlier signed various cross-licensing agreements allowing them to avoid any patent litigations. Samsung is now competing with Micron to develop thinner and more advanced memory chip technologies.

According to market tracker TrendForce, Samsung was the leader with a 42.1 percent share of the global DRAM market, followed by SK and Micron accounting for 29.5 percent and 23 percent, respectively, as of last year.

Representatives for Samsung and SK declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The U.S. law firm sought compensation from the three defendants in April 2018 and October 2019 alleging that the chipmakers had been involved in price fixing. For the case it filed in 2018, courts dismissed the claim, late last year, according to legal sources.

But industry officials said the DRAM pricing mechanism is in sync with demand and supply moves. "It seems to be going too far to say that the three chipmakers artificially inflated the price of DRAM chips. DRAM prices have displayed a downtrend over the last two years," one official said.

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