Republic of Korea: Fair Trade Commission opened consultation on provisional consent decision against Broadcom for violation of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act

On 7 April 2025, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) opened a public consultation on a proposed consent decision pertaining to Broadcom’s breach of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, until 7 May 2025. It was highlighted that Broadcom required domestic set-top box manufacturers to exclusively use its System on Chips. The proposed decision prohibits Broadcom from imposing exclusivity requirements, altering contracts unfavourably due to dealings with competitors, or offering conditional benefits based on majority sourcing. Broadcom is required to run a compliance programme with annual reporting to the KFTC until 2031. It is also required to support the local semiconductor ecosystem through a KRW 13 billion fund for training, software provision, and small and medium enterprises marketing assistance.