Google Korea offices raided yet again over mobile search complaints

The Google office in Seoul has been raided once again by South Koreas Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) today as part of an investigation into claims that the search giant has engaged in unfair trade practices in the countrys mobile search space, according to an announcement.

This incident is not the first time that Google has been investigated on these charges. The Mountain View head-quartered company had its premises in the Korean capital searched during September as the KFTC inveestigated complaints from NHN the organisation behind leading search engine Naver Daum Koreas second largest search firm which accused Google of banning all South Korean phone manufacturers from including third-party search applications under its marketing contract as well as delaying the certification of handset makers that violated the condition.

Following the September raid, the company said that it was working to discuss the problems that the KFTC has with Googles Android platform, and a spokesperson commented:

Android is an open platform, and carrier and OEM partners are free to decide which applications and services to include on their Android phones. We do not require carriers or manufacturers to include Google Search or Google applications on Android-powered devices.

Google is yet to issue a statement on the latest investigation, but we have contacted the company for comment.


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