'David Who Defeated Goliath' The Three Key Figures Behind Qualcomm's Victory

'Fair Person of the Year' Awarded to Lee Ji-hoon, Kwon Hye-ji, and Choi Mi-gang

KFTC Selects Three Members for Litigation Team

Led to Victory in 1.0311 Trillion Won Fine Case

Assistant Secretary Jihoon Lee (from the left), and Officers Hyeji Kwon and Mikang Choi, who were selected as Fair Workers of the Year.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The key figures who led the years-long so-called 'David and Goliath' battle against global IT company Qualcomm to victory have been selected as the 'Fair Trade Persons of the Year.'

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) announced on the 2nd that the 2019 Fair Trade Persons of the Year are Lee Ji-hoon, Deputy Director of the Corporate Transaction Policy Division, Kwon Hye-ji, Officer of the Legal Affairs Office, and Choi Mi-gang, Officer of the Economic Analysis Division, all members of the litigation team handling Qualcomm's abuse of market dominance case. The KFTC plans to award them certificates of commendation and prize money at the opening ceremony held that afternoon to encourage them.

The full-scale legal battle between the KFTC and Qualcomm began in early 2017. On January 20 of that year, the KFTC imposed corrective orders and fines totaling approximately 1.0311 trillion won on Qualcomm and others for abusing their market-dominant position to obstruct the business activities of competing modem chipset companies. Qualcomm and others filed an administrative lawsuit and a request for suspension of execution against the KFTC's decision at the Seoul High Court on February 21, objecting to the fine. However, on December 4 of last year, the Seoul High Court dismissed Qualcomm's claims related to the case and upheld the entire fine.

During this process, Deputy Director Lee and others diligently and actively handled the administrative lawsuit concerning Qualcomm's abuse of market dominance, leading to a complete victory regarding the fine imposition. They played a crucial role in affirming the legitimacy of the KFTC's decision.

The lawsuit involving fines exceeding one trillion won was not easy from the start. Qualcomm appointed a total of 22 legal representatives from major law firms including Sejong, Yulchon, and Hwawoo. In contrast, the KFTC was represented by only four lawyers from the Barun Law Firm.

Throughout this process, Deputy Director Lee and others led the Qualcomm lawsuit task force, managing the legal team and collaborating to conduct a total of 17 hearings and review 18 written submissions. The volume of documents reviewed by both Qualcomm and the KFTC reached 2,593 pages.

Deputy Director Lee said, "The KFTC prepared for the lawsuit with only a few people, while the opposing side involved many lawyers from large law firms, so there were difficulties due to the scale difference, but we responded as a strong team. This result is not the achievement of a few individuals but what the KFTC accomplished, and it recognizes that the KFTC's decision was justified."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.