Intel wages court battle against anti-trust ruling in S. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with English-language statement, details; CHANGES headline)
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- Intel Corp. said Wednesday it has filed a formal complaint with a South Korean court to overturn a ruling against the world's largest chipmaker by the nation's anti-trust regulator.
Wrapping up a two-year probe, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) ruled in
June that Intel violated the nation's anti-trust law by pressuring computer
makers to avoid using chips made by its rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. of the
United States.
At that time, Intel was fined for some 26 billion won (US$18 million).
In a statement, Intel said the complaint was filed to the Seoul High Court,
claiming the KFTC's ruling was based on "substantial factual and legal errors in
formulating its final written opinion."
Intel accused the KTFC of failing "to understand the dynamics, pricing and
competition in the microprocessor market."
Wednesday's action means Intel took the South Korean regulator's ruling straight
to the court, without appealing to the KFTC.
Proceeding directly with the formal complaint will permit the South Korean court
to review the case in its entirety and reach an independent decision.
"Intel also believes that the KFTC has misinterpreted or chose to ignore large
amounts of economic evidence and analysis demonstrating the ultimate benefit to
consumers from the reduced prices and increased performance of Intel's
microprocessors," the Santa Clara, California-based company said.
Officials at the public relations team at Intel's Korean unit were not
immediately available for comment.
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