Samsung may face investigation in Korea

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission may launch an investigation on Samsung after press allegations that they sold NAND flash memory chips to Apple at below market prices. They haven’t formally launched yet, but they are reviewing the case. They should decide whether to launch a full investigation “after next month”. Samsung is cooperating with the investigation.

Samsung started supplying the chips to Apple this year. They are the biggest recipients of the prepayments that Apple is giving to suppliers to guarantee their supply of NAND flash through 2010. Samsung will receive $500 million up front.

This is not the first time that Samsung, so powerful in the their native land that the country is half-jokingly referred to as ‘Republic of Samsung’, has had troubles with the KFTC. The company has filed a lawsuit against the KFTC with the Constitutional Court over a dispute about the appropriateness of the size of their shareholdings in financial affiliates.