South Korea imposes $873 million fine against US chip gaint Qualcomm

ASouthKoreancourton Wednesday upheld a record $873millionfineagainstUSchipgiantQualcommfor unfair business practices related to patent licensing and modemchipsales.

Seoul HighCourtJudge Noh Tae-ak rejected the company's appealagainstthe penalty imposed by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) in 2016 sayingQualcommhad abused its dominant market position.

Thecourt, however, said the regulator's claims thatQualcommhad disadvantaged smartphone makers by signing "comprehensive" licensing deals lacked evidence, opening the door for the company to continue such practices.

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It was not immediately clear whether either side would appeal to the SupremeCourt.

Qualcomm, the world's biggest supplier of mobile phonechips, derives most of its profits from a business segment that invents technologies and licenses them.

The company forecast between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion in revenue for that segment for its fiscal first quarter, above analyst expectations of $1.23 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Qualcommis a topchipsupplier toSouthKoreansmartphone makers Samsung Electronicsand LG Electronics, as well as to Apple Inc.