South Korea Says Google Impeded Antitrust Probe

Google’s relationship with the South Korean government was never all that great to begin with, but now it seems to have slipped into a real downward spiral. The Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has accused the company of meddling with its Android-related antitrust investigation.

The Hankook Ilbo reports that the Korean Fair Trade Commission believes Google interefered with a KFTC raid of its South Korean headquarters by deleting pertinent documents instructing its employees to work from home. The agency had been looking for materials supporting complaints that Google is allegedly limiting access to local search engines on Android smartphones.

If the agency determines that Google did indeed obstruct its investigation, it could slap the company with a fine of up to 200 million won. Which, aside from the negative PR that would accompany it, isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds — about $172,000 at current exchange rates.

Reached for comment, Google said that it is cooperating with the KFTC, but flat-out denied accusations that it deleted documents or instructed employees to telecommute to impede the investigation. The company also said it has not been told that the Commission is considering fines.

(Image courtesy of Flickr/toughkidcst)