South Korea fines Microsoft $32 million
The Korea Fair Trade Commission has fined Microsoft $32 million (33 billion won) for abusing its market dominant position, and ordered the software giant to modify the way it packages its Windows products. Not a huge fine, but these have got to add up over time.
According to a statement released Wednesday by the KFTC, Microsoft was found to have violated Korea’s Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act by bundling its Windows Media Service with the Windows Server operating system, as well as its media player and instant messaging (IM) program with Windows. The KTFC said it found such practices liable because they constitute abuse of Microsoft’s market-dominant position and unfair trade practices under the country’s antitrust laws. In addition, the bundling practices by Microsoft proved to have eliminated competition, leading to the monopolization of the tied product markets, the KTFC said.
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