The U.S. Trade Representative said Friday... that South Korea was in non-compliance of the two countries' bilateral trade agreement,... and demanded its first-ever consultations under the deal.
The USTR requested the talks... claiming that the Korea Fair Trade Commission had denied certain rights to U.S. parties,... including the opportunity to review and rebut evidence to defend themselves.
The announcement did not specify the companies,... but Korean industry sources say it may be referring to U.S. IT companies like Qualcomm.
In 2016, the Korea Fair Trade Commission fined Qualcomm over 9-hundred million U.S. dollars for violating local antitrust laws.
Korea's trade ministry said domestic competition-related laws are in line with the trade agreement... and said it will explain Korea's stance to the U.S. during the consultation process.