Qualcomm, which recently settled an anti-trust dispute in China by agreeing to pay a whopping fine, is now facing a probe by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) of South Korea. The FTC is currently investigating whether or not the U.S. multinational semiconductor company has taken advantage of its leading position in the market to sell its technology to overseas clients, reports IB Times.

Reuters recently reported that in its capacity as the anti-trust body of South Korea, the FTC is likely to send its officials to Samsung, the country's largest smartphone manufacturer, as well as competitors of Qualcomm like Intel to probe whether the San Diego-based tech firm breached antitrust laws by collecting royalty payments from smartphone manufacturers for its patents.

According to the Financial Times, leading South Korean smartphone makers like Samsung, LG and Pantech heavily depend on Qualcomm for its semiconductors to equip their most expensive and technologically sophisticated devices with superior processing power as well as faster data connections on 3G and 4G networks. It has been reported that of late several smartphone manufacturers have expressed their displeasure with the high patent royalties demanded by Qualcomm. In fact, reports also suggest that Qualcomm has emerged as one of the biggest chip makers worldwide owing to its power over patents.

This is not the first time that Qualcomm has come under FTC's scanner. In 2009, the South Korean antitrust commission fined the company more than $200 million for misusing its dominant market position in selling chips to mobile phone makers in Korea.

Financial Times reported that last Monday, Qualcomm consented to cough up $975 million as a fine in China to resolve a government investigation carried over 14 months into the company's anti-competitive practices.

As per the agreement, Qualcomm was also needed to proffer licenses for the company's latest wireless communications chips at larger discounts. For instance, a 4G-capable smartphone manufacturer will now have to pay Qualcomm 2.28 percent of the handset's wholesale price. Earlier, the manufacturer has to pay 3.5 percent, as per Qualcomm's demands.