Qualcomm Inc. said it is going to the highest court in Korea to challenge the local antitrust agency’s fine of more than $900 million and remedial order on alleged over-charge for cellular-related patents in Korea after its request for a stay on the order was rejected by the lower court.

The San Diego-based technology company said it will file an immediate appeal of the stay decision to the Korean Supreme Court as it “continues to believe that the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC)’s decision is not supported by the facts and law, and was the product of a hearing and investigation that denied Qualcomm fundamental due process rights.”

The action comes after the Seoul High Court on Monday denied the company’s request for an injunction on the FTC order as it deemed the company would not suffer “irreparable harm” from the measures.

In December, the KFTC fined Qualcomm 1.03 trillion won ($909.4 million) for unfair business practices in patent licensing and modem chip sales and ordered it to engage in “good-faith negotiations” with Korean smartphone and chip makers over the way it charges fees for its patents.

The regulator said the U.S. firm exploited its monopolistic market status to reject or set limitations for providing its standard essential patents to chipset makers and imposed unfair conditions on customers, including Samsung Electronics Co., LG Electronics Inc., and Huawei, when signing contracts by bundling the patents with chipset sales.

In response, Qualcomm filed two lawsuits, one calling for the cancellation of the FTC’s decision and another seeking a delay in the order until a ruling on the first is made.

By Shin Hyun-kyu

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