Google Faces Antitrust Complaints in South Korea on Android Popularity

Google is facing antitrust complaints in South Korea as mobile phones using its Android software gain dominance.

NHN Corp. and Daum Communications Corp., operators of South Korea’s two largest Internet search sites, filed complaints against Google with the country’s Fair Trade Commission for blocking local phone carriers and manufacturers from embedding their search applications in devices using the Android operating system.

Google has banned South Korean phone manufacturers from including Web search applications made by other companies under its marketing contracts, Seongnam-based NHN said. Google has delayed certifying the use of its software for handset makers that violated the condition, the South Korean company said. Daum learned about Google’s practices while trying to have its applications installed and has evidence to prove its claims, the Seoul-based company said. About 70 percent of the more than 10 million smartphones sold in South Korea were Android-based devices as of March 31, according to an estimate by Park Jong Soo, an analyst at Hanwha Securities Co. in Seoul. NHN and Daum together control about 90 percent of Web searches on personal computers in South Korea, according to Lee Chang Young, an analyst at Tong Yang Securities Inc. in Seoul. Google’s share is between 1 percent and 2 percent, Lee said.