Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) stock was down on Wednesday following news of an antitrust fine from South Korea.
The antitrust fining that Qualcomm, Inc. is facing in South Korea is $853 million. Regulators in the country claim that the company’s patent-licensing business is unfair to mobile phone creators. They also say that QCOM doesn’t allow companies enough access to its patents.
Qualcomm, Inc. is denying the claims and says it plans to oppose the decision. It argues that its patent-licensing business has been working the same way in South Korea and other parts of the world for decades. It also says that it isn’t harming other chipmakers’ ability to sell their products in the country.
The antitrust fine that Qualcomm, Inc. is facing is the largest a single company has ever been given in South Korea. The fine isn’t the problem, but rather it is the idea that QCOM needs to change its business model. 34% of its revenue for the fiscal year of 2016 came from its patent-licensing business, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The investigation into Qualcomm, Inc. started in 2014 after complaints from several companies. The identities of these companies have not been revealed. Companies that weighed in on the QCOM’s practices during the deliberation process included Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) and others.
Shin Young-son, the Security General for the Korea Fair Trade Commission, claims that this isn’t just a move to protect local companies like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (OTCMKTS:SSNLF) and LG Electronics, reports Fortune.
QCOM stock was down 1% as of Wednesday morning.
