South Korea’s fair trade commission says Google making its search service the default in Android devices did not limit competition in the search market.
Kwon Chul-hyun, a director at the commission, said Thursday the regulator found no evidence that Google Inc. unfairly used its power as the Android operating system maker to limit Korean search rivals.
The finding comes at the end of the two-year probe that started when NHN and Daum Communications filed a complaint against the U.S. giant.
Kwon said making Google’s search service default in Android devices had little impact on the market. NHN continues to dominate online search in South Korea with around 70 percent market share. Google has been struggling with around 10 percent.
He said consumers can easily download other search applications.
