Three More Indicted Over LCD Price Fixing

By Geoff Duncan Published February 4, 2009

Three More Indicted Over LCD Price Fixing

Late last year, executives from LG, Sharp, and Chunghwa plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices for LCD display panels worldwide—and the case resulted in one of the largest fines ever handed down by the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division, as well as executives from LG and Chunghwa getting actual jail time. But the DOJ isn’t done with the case yet: the agency has announced three more indictments of executives at Chunghwa and LG for their roles in the price fixing conspiracy.

The new indictments target Cheng Yuan Lin (who served as Chunghwa’s CEO from September 2001 through April 2003), Wen Jun Cheng (Chunghwa’s VP of marketing from October 2001 through September 2004), and Duk Mo Koo (executive VP and sales officer at LG from December 2001 through December 2005. For violations of the Sherman Act before June 22, 2004, all three defendants could face up to three years in prison and fines of $350,000; Cheng and Koo; however, faces charges after that date, which could carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison and $1 million. The fines can be increased to up to twice any gain derived from the acts (or twice the losses suffered).

Recommended Videos

“The Antitrust Division will vigorously pursue individuals who engage in antitrust crimes targeting U.S. businesses and consumers no matter where those individuals live or commit the crime,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division Scott D. Hammond, in a statement. “Today’s charges should make clear that there are no safe havens for international cartels that violate the U.S. antitrust laws.”

The charges were filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.