Investigators drop by Intel offices

Intel Corp. said yesterday that Korean regulators made a surprise visit to its Seoul office earlier this week to investigate its business practices. “[The visit was done] during normal business hours on Tuesday morning, Seoul time,” Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy told Yonhap. “We would not characterize this as a raid. It wasn’t scheduled, but it wasn’t totally unexpected.” The Fair Trade Commission has been investigating the world’s largest chipmaker since it was sued by a rival, Advanced Micro Devices, for anti-competitive business activities. In Seoul, the watchdog neither confirmed nor denied sending employees to Intel’s local office. Its investigation has been under way since March and Intel has already been told to submit documents. “The investigation has centered on whether Intel abused its dominant market position to compel computer manufacturers not to use chips made by rivals,” a commission official said. Intel is accused of offering rebates to computer manufacturers and pressuring companies to not purchase components from its rivals. The official, who declined to be identified, said Japan’s antitrust regulator had ordered Intel to change its practices, while inquiries are also under way in Europe. The official did not comment further. The commission is not supposed to talk about ongoing investigations.