Google is facing a competition probe in South Korea. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether Google obstructed Samsung Electronics' development of its own operating system (OS) to replace the US tech giant's Android OS, The Korea Times reports. "We are currently checking if Google thwarted competition in the OS market," said an unnamed FTC official.
The FTC has also submitted relevant documents to Representative Jeon Hae-cheol of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).
Back in 2011, Google and Samsung signed the Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA) that required Android handsets to preset Google as a default search engine and preinstall its applications and services such as YouTube and Gmail on their home screens. The two companies also signed the anti-fragmentation agreement (AFA) that did not allow Samsung to develop a new OS using Google's algorithms.
Korean search engines Naver and Daum complained about MADA and the FTC investigated Google Korea to check whether the pre-load requirements violated the Antitrust Law. In 2013, Google was cleared after the antitrust body found the two Korean firms' market shares were not affected.
However, the FTC launched its probe into the AFA in May 2016, and found circumstances that hint at Google's obstruction of Samsung's OS development. The FTC is considering reopening the 2013 case, citing the changing situation in the market. "As lawmakers have demanded a reinvestigation of the case, the FTC is checking whether it is possible to do so," the FTC official said.
"Android is an open source platform. Our partner agreements are entirely voluntary — anyone can use Android without Google," said a Google Korea spokesman. "The Android OS can be downloaded for free. It can be modified and used to build a phone. Many companies have used Android's source code as the starting point for their own operating systems," the spokesperson added.
