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South Korea Launches Antitrust Probe Into Arm’s Licensing Practices

By  |  November 19, 2025

South Korea’s competition authorities have launched an investigation into Arm Holdings’ operations in Seoul, according to Reuters, deepening regulatory scrutiny of the chip architecture firm’s global business practices. A source familiar with the situation told Reuters that officials are examining whether Arm’s licensing conduct may violate local antitrust rules.

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    Earlier reporting from Bloomberg News, cited by Reuters, indicated that the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) visited Arm’s Seoul office after receiving a complaint from Qualcomm. Qualcomm has alleged that Arm has been limiting access to its technology and undermining competition despite operating what had long been described as an open network. Qualcomm develops its chips using Arm’s architecture under a licensing arrangement and distributes them to manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics.

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    Neither Arm nor Qualcomm provided comments in response to Reuters inquiries, and the FTC also declined to discuss the matter.

    The companies have been locked in a separate legal battle in the United States. As noted by Reuters, Arm sued Qualcomm in 2022, accusing the American chipmaker of failing to secure a new licensing agreement after acquiring Nuvia, a CPU design startup. Qualcomm later achieved a significant procedural victory in a U.S. federal court in Delaware last year, per Reuters.

    The South Korean investigation adds another layer to the intensifying global oversight of Arm’s licensing model as regulators and rivals scrutinize how the company manages access to its foundational chip designs.

    Source: Reuters