Qualcomm could face a record-high fine of up to 1 trillion won ($881 million) in South Korea, for excesses in licensing practices. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has been accusing Qualcomm of abusing its dominant position and other unfair profiteering practices. The Korean gonvernment authority on Friday anounced that it would make a final decision soon and that it plans to reach a settlement with the U.S. company within the year.

The U.S. company is the original patent holder of the CDMA wireless technology and has significant licencing earnoings in the Asian country.

KFTC plans to take action to ease the pains for local companies that must accept unfair contract terms from the U.S. company for use of the original technology even if the fine may not go to the maximum rate.

The chipset giant charges fees for licensing on device level instead of a chipset, pocketing over 1 trillion won from such pricing system.

The chip giant last year agreed to pay record $975 million fine to Chinese antitrust regulators.