Ben DiPietro, The Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal, January 9, 2017
Chip maker Qualcomm Inc. takes crisis center stage this week after a regulator in South Korea said it would fine the company $853 million for alleged antitrust violations related to its patent-licensing business.
Qualcomm denounced the decision by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, calling it “inconsistent with the facts and the law” and vowing to appeal. “For decades, Qualcomm has worked hand in hand with Korean companies to foster the growth of the wireless Internet,” the company said in a statement. “Qualcomm’s technology and its business model have helped those companies grow into global leaders in the wireless industry. This decision ignores that win-win relationship.”
The experts evaluate how well the company is handling this crisis.
“Qualcomm’s press release response to the ruling of the Korea Fair Trade Commission threaded the needle very well. The communication had a number of goals: to respond to the markets and investment community, to put Korea on public notice that it will appeal and begin to frame the elements of that appeal while trying to not antagonize the Korean government or the court, since Qualcomm is relying on the court’s favorable hearing of the appeal,” says Davia Temin. “Will it win the day? Yet to tell, but the response is thoughtful, strategic and understatedly persuasive.” […read more]