[JURIST] The Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) [official website] Thursday levied nearly $26 million in fines against US computer chip manufacturer Intel Corp. [corporate website] after a KFTC probe [JURIST report] found that the company had engaged in anti-competitive practices. Intel allegedly offered rebates to South Korean computer makers in return for not using chips made by Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) [corporate website]. An official notification of the fine is still pending, but Intel indicated that it would appeal. Reuters has more. The Joong Ang Daily has local coverage.

The South Korean fine comes amidst other global probes into Intel's rebate program. In February, the European Commission carried out an unannounced inspection [JURIST report] at Intel's Munich office as part of the European investigation [JURIST news archive] into the rebate program. In January, the state of New York opened an investigation [JURIST report] into possible Intel anti-competitive practices directed at AMD. In October 2007, the US Federal Trade Commission announced it would not open a formal investigation [JURIST report] into Intel's rebate program.