Broadcom's 18.6 Billion Won Fine Upheld by Supreme Court: "Forced Samsung Electronics into Purchase Agreement"

Alleged abuse of market position
Pressured Samsung Electronics by threatening to halt component supplies

Yonhap News Agency

U.S. semiconductor company Broadcom has been ordered by the Supreme Court to pay a fine of 18.664 billion won for allegedly forcing Samsung Electronics to enter into a purchase agreement. Broadcom filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the fine imposed by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, but ultimately lost.

According to legal sources on November 2, the Supreme Court's First Division, with Justice Cheon Dae-yeop presiding, on October 27 upheld a lower court ruling against Broadcom's U.S. headquarters and its branches in their lawsuit against the Korea Fair Trade Commission seeking to overturn corrective orders and an order to pay the fine. In September 2023, the commission imposed corrective orders and a fine of 18.664 billion won, finding that Broadcom had abused its market position and violated the Fair Trade Act.

The commission found that Broadcom pressured Samsung Electronics by suspending the supply of smartphone components and forced it to accept a long-term agreement (LTA) that overwhelmingly favored Broadcom. In March 2020, Samsung Electronics signed an agreement to purchase at least $760 million worth of Broadcom's RFFE components, which improve radio-frequency performance, as well as Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-related components, each year for three years starting in 2021. The agreement required Samsung to compensate Broadcom for any shortfall if its purchases fell below that amount.

The commission determined that, during negotiations, Broadcom used unfair tactics, including suspending the approval of purchase orders and halting product shipments and production, to force Samsung to accept a contract that overwhelmingly favored Broadcom. At the time, Broadcom was the world's leading company, with a dominant market share in RFFE and related markets. The commission said Samsung had no choice but to comply with Broadcom's unilateral demands to avoid disruptions to production of newly launched models such as the Galaxy S20.

Broadcom challenged the commission's decision by filing a lawsuit in November 2023. However, in May 2026, the Seoul High Court ruled against Broadcom, finding that the commission's fine was justified. Broadcom then sought to appeal the ruling, but the Supreme Court dismissed its appeal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.