[The Chosun Ilbo, January 28 2008] Phone Makers Win W300 Bil. Tariff Suit

Several mobile phone makers have won a W300-billion (US$1=W947) lawsuit against the Korea Customs Service for import duties levied on multi-chip package memory products, a key component in mobile phones.

The Seoul Administrative Court sided with LG Electronics in its request to cancel W22.4 billion in tariffs imposed by the customs service on MCP imports. The court also ordered taxes be canceled for Toshiba (W42 billion) and Pantech (W3.7 billion).

Samsung Electronics is also expected to win a similar W150-billion suit which is scheduled to be ruled on soon. The customs service has slapped over W300 billion in tariffs on 140 MCP importers.

Combining flash memory chips and S-RAM, MCPs are used for data storage in cell phones. Manufacturers have imported them as integrated circuits which are not subject to tariffs since 1998.