Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has pushed even the cash-strapped Koreans too far. The country’s fair trade regulatory body is investigating the legality of a deal for Hangul and Computer Co to dump Korea’s most popular word processing program in return for a $20m Microsoft investment. Microsoft’s Word has a tiny market share in Korea and the deal would propel it into the number one spot with the flourish of Gates’ signature on a check. However, the Korean FTC plans to probe the agreement because it is illegal to limit competition through mergers. Gates, who paid a visit to Korea at a time when the outcry against his plan was at its height, has already indicated he might back down, saying the Korean peoples’ reaction was important.
