GOOG Alphabet Inc

By Jonathan Cheng 

SEOUL -- South Korea is again considering whether Google is violating antitrust laws, the country's Fair Trade Commission said.

The issue appears to revolve around the preloading of Google apps on smartphones powered by Google's Android operating system, a matter on which the company had been cleared in a 2013 investigation. The concern is that the preloading puts competing apps and services at a disadvantage with phone users.

The latest review, first acknowledged in a statement Friday, represents a new headache for Google restrictions on exporting digital map dataparent company Alphabet Inc. in a key Asian market.

Google and South Korea's government were already facing off on other fronts. In recent weeks, Seoul has been weighing Google's request to lift restrictions on exporting digital map data that Google says limits its Maps service in the country.

After several months of intense lobbying, the government has delayed a final decision, leaving Google's mapping services more limited in South Korea than in neighboring China and even North Korea, according to Google.

At a panel discussion hosted by the government this week, local competitors expressed opposition to Google's request, arguing that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company doesn't pay its fair share of taxes and is seeking to flout South Korean laws.

A Google spokeswoman said the company follows local tax laws in every country in which it operates. She declined to comment on the Fair Trade Commission investigation.

Separately, authorities here are investigating Google's top executive in South Korea, John Lee, as part of a widening probe into a series of deaths allegedly caused by humidifier disinfectants manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC's Oxy unit. Mr. Lee was Reckitt's South Korea head during the period when many of the deaths occurred.

In 2011, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked an ingredient in the disinfectant to potentially fatal lung injuries, and Reckitt recalled the products. In May, Reckitt said for the first time that it accepted responsibility for having sold the disinfectant, saying that it would "do the right thing for the victims and their families."

Mr. Lee was indicted by government prosecutors last month. The Google spokeswoman declined to make him available for comment.

Write to Jonathan Cheng at jonathan.cheng@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 13, 2016 02:48 ET (06:48 GMT)

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