Microsoft told a South Korean court it wants to drop its appeal against an antitrust ruling by Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), and the government agency said on Tuesday it was studying the decision.

The case will be dropped if the commission doesn’t object, an official at the Seoul High Court Oh Jung Gul said by telephone on Tuesday.  Microsoft withdrew the appeal against the antitrust regulator on October 10, he said. The court was scheduled to rule on the appeal on Wednesday. Korean Fair Trade Commission spokesman Na Yang Ju said the regulator was reviewing its position.

“Microsoft has sought to withdraw its appeal,” the company said on Tuesday. “We are working with the KFTC and the Seoul High Court, but because the matter is pending before the court we cannot comment further.”

The commission ruled in 2005 that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position, fining it $35.41 million and ordering it to separate its instant messaging programme from the Windows operating system.

The commission rejected Microsoft’s appeal in May 2006, and then the company took the case to the Seoul High Court. A court sentencing was set for Wednesday, but it would be delayed until October 25 by when the commission has to say whether it would agree with Microsoft’s request, the spokesman for the trust-busting body said. The agency was undecided on its next step, he added.