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Microsoft Threatens To Withdraw Windows in S.Korea

Posted by Zonk on from the that-won't-lead-to-piracy-at-all dept.

RocketJeff writes "South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating Microsoft since 2001 for violations of South Korea's antitrust rules. According to a Reuters article, part of a recent Microsoft regulatory filing states 'it might be necessary to withdraw Windows from the Korean market or delay offering new versions in Korea.' Basically, Microsoft is threatening to take their marbles and go home if they don't get the ruling they want."

37 of 536 comments (clear)

  1. Good strategy by It+doesn't+come+easy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Right...that should convince the South Korean government (and the rest of the world) that they're not an abusive monopoly.

    --
    The NSA: The only part of the US government that actually listens.
    1. Re:Good strategy by JavaLord · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I wonder what percentage of the south korean economy is made up of those internet cafes. Switching OS's won't really be fun for them (if it comes to that.).

      Gaming is fairly big in SK also, somehow I think 'it runs on WINE' isn't going to fly.

    2. Re:Good strategy by El+Cubano · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Right...that should convince the South Korean government (and the rest of the world) that they're not an abusive monopoly.

      I don't care what the rest of the world thinks. I would just like to see them do the same throughout the rest of the world. Start threatening to take Windows out of the various world markets and see the wonders it does for OSS alternatives. At the very least people will begin to prepare migration plans and so on.

    3. Re:Good strategy by Tester · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Gaming is fairly big in SK also, somehow I think 'it runs on WINE' isn't going to fly.

      But it runs on the Playstation probably is.. Its also a huge market for games, so this might make people write/port their games to non-Microsoft operation systems..

    4. Re:Good strategy by MoonFog · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or it would spark more piracy as people desperate to play Counterstrike and Starcraft download Windows instead of buying it in the stores.

    5. Re:Good strategy by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Exactly. All this would be is a short-term pain for South Korea. In the long-term, however, it would convince companies in South Korea and elsewhere not to place strategic reliance upon a proprietary operating system that can be pulled off the market on a whim.

      I have to wonder, is Microsoft's future sales of Windows starting to look so bleak that Microsoft needs to play poker with their customers? I know that yesterday's quarterly report was not the greatest, but I didn't think it was bad enough to start warranting this type of chair-throwing behavior with South Korea.

      On a side note, since this news broke, if any CIO manager who is dependent upon Windows is not starting to look for strategic alternatives, that IT mangaer is not doing his or her job.

    6. Re:Good strategy by Klivian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I wonder what percentage of the south korean economy is made up of those internet cafes. Switching OS's won't really be fun for them (if it comes to that.).

      Does not really matter, as it's not like MS can reclaim already existing Windows installs. It may create some annoyances for people planing new deployments or upgrades, but existing install will not be affected in any way. It's like if Ford decided to stop making cars, it would not cause all the Fords currently on the road to stop working.

    7. Re:Good strategy by Dogtanian · · Score: 4, Funny

      I have to wonder, is Microsoft's future sales of Windows starting to look so bleak that Microsoft needs to play poker with their customers?

      Steve Ballmer is reported to have said "Fucking South Koreans are fucking pussies. I'm going to fucking bury that country, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to fucking destroy South Korea." ....

      In other news, Microsoft are reported to be engaged in talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il regarding what Ballmer calls a "synergistic exchange of resources; in exchange for free Windows XP Home licenses, Microsoft will receive the use of North Korea's dedicated military personnel and hardware, including 'cutting edge nuclear technology'".

      It was noted by analysts that Ballmer was "unusually serene and satisfied looking" during this announcement. The reason for this is as yet unclear.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    8. Re:Good strategy by jacen_sunstrider · · Score: 5, Funny

      Eventually?

    9. Re:Good strategy by Pentavirate · · Score: 4, Interesting

      There are countries where piracy is more rampant than others. I lived in Venezuela in the mid 90's and I'd never seen such rampant piracy before in my life. People sold copies of copywrited material on every street corner. From bad duplicates of Simpson T-shirts to stacks and stacks of audio cassettes coppied onto blank tapes. I don't know anything about South Korea, but you can't say that piracy problems are the exact same no matter where you are in the world.

      --
      www.joshferguson.org
    10. Re:Good strategy by bigman2003 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      First the United States
      Then the E.U.
      Now South Korea

      How long until every government jumps on the $500,000,000 + bandwagon of suing Microsoft?

      They really don't have many choices. Now they are at the point where their only answer is: "We don't negotiate with terrorists."

      --
      No reason to lie.
    11. Re:Good strategy by SQL_SAM · · Score: 4, Insightful
      First, South Korea isn't known for piracy any more than any other country.

      I did a simple google search (piracy in south Korea) and found the following interesting articles. I may be wrong, but it does look like S. Korea is known for a major amount of piracy And is my opinion that we (United States) are no way as close to the piracy in other countries like South Korea as we tend to fear repercussions and law suits more then other countries do...

      http://www.mpaa.org/PiracyFactSheets/PiracyFactShe etSouthKorea.pdf

      http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117907504?catego ryid=1009&cs=1

      Piracy losses (US$ millions) $27 million
      Seizures (all items) 231,514
      Piracy level (Video & Optical Disc) 25%

      "Piracy has been on the rebound in South Korea since the economic downturn in 2001 and 2002. Historically, piracy of high quality, counterfeit videocassettes has been the most prevalent in the market. However, in 2003, there has been a significant increase in the number of DVD imports and optical disc burner operations in South Korea. In addition, duplication facilities of videocassette plants and now burner labs have become larger, more secretive and more sophisticated with technology. This signals a shift from the historical trend where piracy duplication facilities had small and medium capacity.

      South Korea's cat-and-mouse with piracy

      "With a piracy rate of 40 percent to 50 percent, according to various estimates, South Korea has become one of the hot spots for cracking down on illegal software."


      Again I may be wrong but it seems that your statement is unfounded. - Cheers!

      --
      There are 10 types of people in the world: Those that know Binary and those who don't.
  2. Oh, that's fine! That's fine! by Mayhem178 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Screw you guys! I'm going home!

    --

    "You will pay for your lack of vision..." - Emperor Palpatine to Ray Charles

  3. In Korea by faqmaster · · Score: 5, Funny

    Only old people use Windows in Korea.

    --
    Are you...Are you some kind of genius?
    No, ma'am, I'm just a regular Slashdot reader.
  4. Deep Thought said it best by Verteiron · · Score: 5, Funny

    "And who will that inconvenience?"

    --
    End of lesson. You may press the button.
  5. Their software by MrDoh1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's their software, shouldn't they be able to sell it or not sell it where they wish?

    --
    I am Homer of Borg. Resistance is Fut.. Mmmmmmmm, Donuts!
    1. Re:Their software by filtur · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's their software, shouldn't they be able to sell it or not sell it where they wish?

      Of course not!! (You must be new here)

    2. Re:Their software by CosmeticLobotamy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's their software, shouldn't they be able to sell it or not sell it where they wish?

      They should be allowed. That doesn't mean they're not jerks if they do.

    3. Re:Their software by k98sven · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's their software, shouldn't they be able to sell it or not sell it where they wish?

      Nobody said otherwise. (I now take a step back to avoid being hit by the falling straw-man)

      It's very simple. Microsoft doesn't have to sell their software in Korea if they don't want to. Although they'd probably not be able to stop it, since it could be imported via a third country.

      But if Microsoft does want to sell their product in Korea, they have to follow the rules and laws passed by the Korean government. It's as simple as that. Bitching about (in your mind) unfair laws might be okay if South Korea was a dictatorship, but it's not. South Korea is a democracy. Those laws have the support of their people.

      Or are you simply some imperialist who believe you know what's better for them than they do?

      Besides which, Microsoft isn't going to get out of Korea. They can't afford to. Not because of the money, but because it would create the incentive for them to switch. There are nearly 50 million people in South Korea. Whatever platform they moved to (Linux, Mac), it would be a huge boost for that platform, which would mean a much larger strategic loss for Microsoft than it would in terms of Windows licenses.

      Microsoft needs to sustain it's monopoly to survive. Why do you think they're fighting the OpenDocument format so hard? They need to stop other platforms from becoming viable alternatives. And a large modern nation like Korea certainly has the resources to do so.

    4. Re:Their software by Daniel_Staal · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Sure they can.

      The fact that Microsoft is thinking about it is news, as well as why. Sure they have the right, but it seems the reason to do it is to threaten a country into doing what they want. (By leaving them outside of a technological loop, where everyone else is likely to have a product they don't.) This is interesting because: A company has the power to inconvience a country; Microsoft is acting like a bully; Microsoft obviously isn't seeing all the long-term implications of this.

      If Microsoft succedes, they have proven a multi-national company can be above a particular country's law, and we may be on the way to an overtly corporate-run globe. If it is not a bluff and S. Korea calls it, OSS in all it various forms will get a boost, and we will get to see exactly how much power Microsoft has. If Microsoft backs down, they look like a scared bully and lose prestige. (Especally amoung governments.)

      This is a high-stakes move from Microsoft. It will be interesing to watch. Most likely is some compromise position, which still shows a lot of power in Microsoft's hands.

      --
      'Sensible' is a curse word.
  6. And ... by jmartens · · Score: 5, Funny

    South Korea prepares a heart felt thank you letter.

    --
    Now that's a death ray!
    1. Re:And ... by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny
      South Korea prepares a heart felt thank you letter.

      Meanwhile, North Korea issued a Cease and Desist letter to Microsoft, claiming unlawful infringement of their strong arm and enigmatic negotiating policies.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  7. Funny, that by JudicatorX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    the headline below this is "Why do people switch to Linux?"

    --
    "It is a good divine that follows his own instructions" - Portia, The Merchant of Venice
  8. Nothing to see here by jaymzter · · Score: 4, Informative

    This is common language in such filings to let investors know of worst case scenarios. For reference, see such filings by SCO on Groklaw.
    So no, it's not a threat or a conspiracy

    --
    If thou see a fair woman pay court to her, for thus thou wilt obtain love
    1. Re:Nothing to see here by daVinci1980 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah.. This headline is exactly why the media today pisses me off. Sensationalism at its worst.

      From TFA: "If the KFTC enters an order requiring Microsoft to remove code or redesign Windows uniquely for the Korean market, it might be necessary to withdraw Windows from the Korean market or delay offering new versions in Korea," Microsoft said in a U.S. regulatory filing on Thursday. (Emphasis mine)

      First off, that was disclosed in a regulatory filing, which was the responsible thing for Microsoft to do. They're warning their investors that should the ruling be against them, they will have to take steps to deal with the ruling which would cost them and their investors money.

      Secondly, Microsoft isn't really being unreasonable. Irrespective of whatever reasons they chose to bundle these three pieces of software in the first place, they're bundled together now. There are many issues with decoupling them, not the least of which is the fact that the SDK for WMP and MSN are now included in Windows, and could cause breakage to non-Microsoft applications when removed. But let's assume for a second that not one app in the entire world uses either of these extensions to the standard Windows SDK. There's still the issue that decoupling these pieces of software will be expensive... If only Korea requires their decoupling, it may make more business sense to simply pull their product from South Korea rather than pay the costs associated with it.

      Finally, Real Media (also mentioned in TFA) doesn't have a leg to stand on. Their product is inferior to their competitors' products in every way, so they chose to stay in business the old fashioned way: lawsuits.

      I'm not pro-Microsoft. But I'm definitely anti-sensationalist media and anti-idiot.

      --
      I currently have no clever signature witicism to add here.
  9. An answer to a question? by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny
    I guess there's an answer here to the question "Linux: Why Do People Switch To Linux?"

    "So Korea, why did you switch to Linux?"

    Korea: "For a variety of reasons. First, Microsoft violated many of my anti-trust regulations. Second, because it is foreign owned and controlled, even it their home country is one of my allies. Third, TCO is very high. Fourth, I have had many security and quality issues with their Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none operating system. Fifth, Microsoft in response to the charges had threatened to slow or not at all release new products. And finally, because they took their marbles and went home."

    "Their marbles?"

    Korea: "Yes, I'm very disappointed, they had some very pretty catseyes and peeries."

    "If the KFTC enters an order requiring Microsoft to remove code or redesign Windows uniquely for the Korean market, it might be necessary to withdraw Windows from the Korean market or delay offering new versions in Korea," Microsoft said in a U.S. regulatory filing on Thursday.
    Man. Are these people lazy, greedy or what? An entire country, with a considerably strong economy that DEC, Pr1me, Unisys, etc. would absolutely have sold their souls for. Microsoft can't have it their way so they're going to pull out. Blimey.
    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  10. Good strategy by Microsoft by Monkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is a clever strategy on the part of Microsoft. The Koreans will be brought to their knees when they realize they need Windows to play Starcraft.

  11. Nothing to see here.. by Pudusplat · · Score: 5, Insightful
    "If the KFTC enters an order requiring Microsoft to remove code or redesign Windows uniquely for the Korean market, it might be necessary to withdraw Windows from the Korean market or delay offering new versions in Korea,"


    So, if I'm reading it right, Microsoft is saying that they will either not release a "special" version of windows for S. Korea, or that releases will be delayed (presumably to create the modifications required by their Anti-Trust regulations).

    This seems perfectly reasonable. They're not even saying they will necessarily pull windows from the market, it might just take them longer to develop the "MS Vista - S. Korea Version" than it would to release the standard. Nothing to see here... more Microsoft non-news.

    Plus, if S. Korea is saying "play nice" and they say "no" outright, this is still well within their rights, there is no mandate that they must release software for the masses (In fact, SlashThink directly opposes this). More power to S. Korea if they think they can actually pull that off...
    --
    "If you put butter and salt on it, it tastes like salty butter." -Terry Pratchet, on Popcorn.
  12. new business model? by blackcoot · · Score: 4, Funny

    1) open mouth
    2) insert shotgun ...
    $$$ profit! $$$

  13. Clause in Longhorn EULA to come by TheSpoom · · Score: 4, Funny

    24. ANTI-SOUTH KOREA PROVISION

    Windows may not be used and is not licensed for use in any area of South Korea because they are big doodyheads and we don't like them any more.

    --
    It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
    - E. Debs
  14. A dash of reality, here by Control+Group · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Oh, please.

    MS isn't going to pull out of South Korea. Everyone involved already knows that. The statement is just part of the usual grandstanding that always goes on with this sort of thing. They won't pull out because it's too large a market to just write off, and they don't want another country deciding to go with a competitor nationwide.

    --

    Reality has a conservative bias: it conserves mass, energy, momentum...
  15. Right... by ILikeRed · · Score: 5, Funny

    SCO is just the picture of normalcy.

    Now if only we could get them to pull their products from the US, I would be happy.

    --
    I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress -J Adams
  16. Isn't that their right? by MoNsTeR · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If I don't want to sell you something, by what moral principle could you compel me to do so anyway?

    The "if you're gonna be a shitty customer, I'm gonna ban you from my store" play seems perfectly reaosnable to me.

  17. The way I see it..... by 8127972 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There are three possible explanations:

    1. Microsoft doesn't make a lot of money in South Korea, so they don't care if they're there or not.

    2. This is just a stunt better used by an 8 year old rather than a mult-billion dollar software company.

    3. Microsoft is desperate to hold on to its domination of the planet earth. After all, when you control over 90% of the desktops on earth there's nowhere to go but down.

    --
    This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
  18. Korean Strategy: All Microsoft IP declared Public by Confessed+Geek · · Score: 4, Insightful


    You can't play hardball with an independent nation..

    Tomrrows Headlines:
    Korea declares all Microsoft IP, Software and Copywrites to be in the Korean Public Domain. All Microsoft Offices Nationalized and documents seized for "National Security"

  19. Re:You are 100% correct. by Catbeller · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nope. Monopolies destroy "free markets". That's what Adam Smith, no less, said. And he was right. If the result of a "free market" is the permanent elimination of a free market, then you've hit a recursive loop and have fallen off the flat earth.

    And here's a thing: a nation doesn't maintain free markets to enable companies to do whatever they want. Free markets are maintained for the benefit of the common good, so that prices are kept sane, product can't be embargoes on personal whim, and we the people have a market responsive to our needs, NOT THE COMPANY'S.

    Corporations are licensed legal fictions designed to remove personal liability from the exectives of same. They exist for our purposes - the market is not kept free for their benefit, but for ours.

    Letting busineses grow into monopolies, unregulated, will just create a new feudalism which will in no way be a free market enabling a free people. The only people "free" in a world without business regulations will be the owners of the businesses.

    We regulate monopolies so we can retain free markets. That's not just Adam Smith, it's the law.

  20. Re:Korean Strategy: All Microsoft IP declared Publ by Landaras · · Score: 4, Informative

    Korea declares all Microsoft IP, Software and Copywrites to be in the Korean Public Domain.

    Diclaimer: IANAL, but I am a law student.

    As much as that (semi-humorous) thought would warm my heart, South Korea is a member of the World Trade Organization, which requires signing the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPs"), which incorporates the Berne Convention by reference.

    What does this mean? It means that South Korea is obligated to recognize foreign copyrights, and stripping that protection for (arguably valid) nationalist reasons would almost certainly be in violation of international law. I haven't had a chance to fully and formally study the documents in question, but I would be shocked if there would be no recourse by the WTO.

    - Neil Wehneman

    P.S. Berne is a major impediment to full and free reform of copyright on a national level, as it mandates signatory countries to grant at least a copyright term of life of the author plus fifty years.

    --
    My legal education, in nifty podcast format