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The South Korean Fair Trade Commission may require Microsoft to unbundle its media player and instant messaging software from Windows.

It's always sad when governments and big corporations can't get along. For Microsoft, a progressing spat with Seoul has seen the world's top software titan threaten to pull its Windows operating system from the South Korean market.

Reuters reported on a response from a government office to that threat:

"We regret that Microsoft, which serves more than 20 million customers in South Korea, has officially mentioned that it could pull out from the country when regulators are probing the issue on a fair legal basis," the information ministry said.

"We believe Microsoft, as a global company, should take its responsibility for its customers and companies in relation to its business."
The problems started four years ago, when South Korean portal Daum Communications Corp complained that the bundling of Windows Media Player and MSN Messenger violated antitrust rules.

Microsoft had previously stated it felt the complaints by Daum and later by RealNetworks were without merit, and the company has cooperated with investigators. Details about the investigation gained more attention after Microsoft mentioned them in SEC filings.

A ruling by the KFTC could be made public this week, and unless discussions with Microsoft produce an agreement acceptable to Seoul, Microsoft would then be faced with leaving the South Korean market.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.