Microsoft Appeals KFTC Decision

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

29 March 2006

Microsoft on Monday filed an appeal with the Seoul High Court to review the decision in the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) case against it.

The appeal is a lawsuit seeking revocation of the KFTC’s decision, which was issued last December, based on the law and facts in the case. The company has also requested reconsideration of the decision by the KFTC.

The FTC last year ordered Microsoft to sell in Korea a version of its Windows operating system that includes neither Windows Media Player nor Windows Messenger functionality, and required that Microsoft facilitate consumer downloads of third party media player and messenger products selected by the Commission.

It additionally prohibited Microsoft from selling a version of its server software that includes Windows Media Services in Korea.

However, Microsoft continues to believe that its actions are consistent with Korean law and have benefited Korean consumers and the Korean technology industry.

“The facts do not support the KFTC’s position. Consumers can easily download and use a wide range of software from many different companies,” explained Jae Hoon Chung, Korea senior attorney for Microsoft, continuing:

“In fact, market data from Korean Click show that Korean consumers use multiple media players and instant messenger clients. New instant messaging services and media players such as NateOn Messenger and GOM Player are flourishing in Korea.”

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