SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s corporate watchdog is expected to soon announce the results of its deliberation into an antitrust case against Google Inc. for its alleged involvement in activities that hurt fair market competition, industry sources said Friday.

Some sources also speculate that the Fair Trade Commission might be considering dropping the charges against the U.S. Internet search engine giant as it is in the final stage of its deliberation into the case.

In 2011, NHN Corp. and Daum Communications Corp., South Korea’s two major portal operators, filed a complaint against Google, accusing the company of hurting fair market competition by obliging mobile phone makers to “preload” its search engine only when offering its Android operating system to those producers.

“We were informed that the FTC temporarily decided to drop the charges against Google though the whole process has yet to be finalized,” a portal industry source said on condition of anonymity.