LG.Philips LCD has announced that it has been a subject of an industry-wide investigation of anticompetitive conduct in the LCD industry.

Last Friday, officials from the Korean Fair Trade Commission visited the offices of the manufacturer and supplier of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels in Seoul, Korea, the company said. In addition, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission issued a notice to the company's offices in Tokyo, Japan, and the United States Department of Justice issued a subpoena to LG.Philips' offices in San Jose, Calif.

LG.Philips, a joint venture between LG Electronics and Royal Philips Electronics, is currently the second-ranked TFT-LCD maker worldwide, according to market research firm iSuppli Corp.  Regardless of this success, Philips has been rumored in recent months to be shopping around its stake in the JV.

The LG.Philips' Seoul raid marks the second time government officials have searched the offices of a major tech company in as many weeks. Russian government officials raided IBM's Moscow office last week,  and have since charged the company with stealing from the country's pension fund, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

For its part, LG.Philips has said it has no plans to resist the investigation. "LG.Philips LCD takes this matter very seriously and will cooperate fully with regulatory authorities," the company said in a statement. "While these investigations continue, LG.Philips LCD is committed to running its business as usual, supplying its global customer base with the highest quality products."

By: DocMemory
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