South Korea's antitrust commission will make a final ruling next month on allegations that Microsoft unfairly used its dominant position to shut out rivals, the government said Monday. The nation's Fair Trade Commission has been investigating allegations raised by South Korean Internet portal Daum Communications in September 2001 that Microsoft breached antitrust laws by selling a version of the Windows system that incorporated Microsoft's own instant messaging software. Daum, which has its own messaging service, asserted that Microsoft excluded rivals from messaging markets by using its dominant market position. "We'll present the case to the committee meeting on July 13 to make the final decision," a FTC spokesman said by telephone. The FTC has expanded the probe since late last year when Microsoft rival RealNetworks filed a complaint, saying Microsoft had been unfairly bundling Media Player audio-visual software and the Media Server program with its Windows operating system. Microsoft has said the complaint is without merit and that it would cooperate fully with the probe. In a similar case, the European Commission last year fined Microsoft a record 497 million euros ($604 million) and demanded changes to its business practices, which it found were an abuse of its monopoly on computer software. Microsoft appealed that decision to the European Union courts. Source: News.com
