The Fair Trade Commission, South Korea'santitrust watchdog, probed Alphabet Inc. unit Google Inc. over alleged anti-competitive practicesrelated to its Android operating system, TheKorea Herald reported July 21, citing industry sources.

The agency initiated a probe to determine whether Google forcedsmartphone manufacturers to install the Android OS in their handsets.

In 2013, the South Korean antitrust regulator found noevidence of Google'salleged anti-competitive practices regarding its search service in Androidphones.