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South Korea antitrust regulator probes Arm Holdings in Seoul, source says
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 19, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Quick Summary
South Korea's antitrust regulator is investigating Arm Holdings' Seoul office over licensing practices, prompted by a Qualcomm complaint.
South Korea Probes Arm Holdings' Licensing Practices
(Reuters) -South Korea's antitrust regulator is investigating the Seoul offices of Arm Holdings as part of ongoing scrutiny of the company's licensing practices, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
Bloomberg News reported earlier that South Korea's Fair Trade Commission visited Arm's Seoul office, following a complaint from Qualcomm alleging that the British company was restricting access to its technology and harming competition after more than 20 years of operating an open network.
Qualcomm designs chips based on Arm's architecture under a licensing deal, and supplies them to companies including South Korean smartphone maker Samsung Electronics.
Arm and Qualcomm did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for a comment. The FTC declined to comment.
The two companies are embroiled in a separate legal dispute in the U.S. after Arm sued Qualcomm in 2022 for allegedly failing to negotiate a new licensing deal after it acquired Nuvia, a CPU design startup. Qualcomm secured a key win in the U.S. federal court in Delaware last year.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee in Seoul, Dheeraj Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Tom Hogue and Kate Mayberry)
Key Takeaways
- •South Korea's antitrust regulator is investigating Arm Holdings.
- •The investigation follows a complaint from Qualcomm.
- •Qualcomm alleges Arm is restricting technology access.
- •Arm and Qualcomm are in a separate legal dispute in the U.S.
- •The FTC and involved companies have not commented.
Frequently Asked Questions about South Korea antitrust regulator probes Arm Holdings in Seoul, source says
1What is antitrust regulation?
Antitrust regulation refers to laws and policies designed to promote competition and prevent monopolies in the marketplace, ensuring that consumers have access to a variety of products and services at fair prices.
2What is competition law?
Competition law is a set of regulations that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by prohibiting anti-competitive behavior, such as monopolies, cartels, and unfair business practices.
