Microsoft Corp has persuaded a Korean software company, Hangul and Computer Company to ditch the country’s best-selling word processing package in return for an investment of up to $20m. At a stroke, Microsoft’s Word package, which only had around 10 per cent of the Korean market, is set to become market leader as a result of the deal. Hangul president Lee Chan-jin said: We are obliged to introduce foreign capital due to the financial pinch caused by the foreign exchange crisis. We will also stop investing in the word processor software any more and instead will invest in new software development. Quite apart from the financial crisis that has seen Hangul’s shares plunge from a peak of 130,000 won to a current level of 5,640, the company has never made much money on the product because of widespread piracy in the area. Bill Gates arrives in Korea today to finalize the deal.
