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Broadcom will pay $9.3 million to Korean semiconductor industry instead of punishment for 'unfair' actions

Published: 03 Sep. 2025, 18:11 Updated: 03 Sep. 2025, 18:14

The Broadcom company logo is shown outside one of their office complexes in Irvine, California, on March 4, 2021. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has approved U.S. semiconductor company Broadcom's proposal to pay 13 billion won ($9.3 million) to support the domestic system semiconductor industry and stop business practices it called "unfair" to Korean set-top box manufacturers rather than levy official penalties for the alleged unfair acts.

FTC said Wednesday it had confirmed Broadcom’s consent order related to suspected violations of the Fair Trade Act. Under the system, a company under investigation may propose voluntary corrective measures, and if the commission deems them reasonable, the case is closed without a formal finding of illegality.

Broadcom has been under investigation for allegedly forcing Korean set-top box makers to use only its system semiconductor components.

According to the finalized consent order, Broadcom will no longer require local set-top box manufacturers and other business partners to exclusively use its chips. If a manufacturer chooses to purchase from a competitor, Broadcom cannot alter existing contracts to disadvantage them. The company is also prohibited from pressuring partners to source more than half their system semiconductor demand from Broadcom products or offering price or technical support on the condition that they purchase a majority share.

Broadcom will also establish a 13 billion won fund to support Korea’s system semiconductor and related industries. The fund will be used to provide education programs for semiconductor specialists and to supply electronic design automation software to small- and medium-sized enterprises in the sector.

“A similar resolution was adopted in Europe and the United States for comparable conduct by Broadcom,” an FTC official said. “We judged that swiftly implementing the company’s cooperative measures would serve the public interest by improving the business environment in Korea’s system semiconductor market.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY AHN HYO-SEONG [[email protected]]