According to sources quoted by the Korean Herald newspaper, recently, the Korean Fair Trade Commission has decided to penalize Apple South Korea for fines. The company has issued an investigation report to Apple, requesting Apple's final explanation.
After obtaining an explanation from Apple Korea, the Korean Fair Trade Commission will determine the amount of the fine, the scope of the penalty, etc.
Overlord style
Previously, the media have reported a large number of Apple companies' unfair competition in South Korea. Some practices have made telecommunications companies very dissatisfied. It is reported that Apple requires operators to bear a large amount of expenses for mobile phone sales, including marketing activities, advertising fees, repair fees, etc. .
At the end of last year, three telecommunications companies in South Korea broadcasted advertisements to promote Apple's mobile phones on television. This was an action requested by Apple. However, Apple asked telecommunications companies to pay for advertisements.
A telecom company executive stated that the advertisement of Apple’s mobile phone broadcast in Korea is not much different from ordinary Apple advertising. It only added the logo design of the telecom company at the end of the film, but telecom operators must bear high advertising costs.
At the end of last year, Apple had also asked the three South Korean telecommunications companies to develop a separate sales system for Apple's mobile phones at their own expense. This sales system must be based on Apple’s iOS operating system. In addition, the Korean telecommunications company can only use the Apple tablet to run the sales system. .
Sources said that this separate sales system will bring Korean telecommunications companies an extra million dollars per year.
It is reported that in the face of complaints from telecommunications companies, the Korea Fair Trade Commission began investigating Apple in 2016, and in June 2016 and November 2017, it raided the offices of Apple Korea.
It should be noted that this is not the first time in the world that Apple has been punished by unfair competition from the government. In 2013, the Taiwan region accused Apple of controlling the cost of the iPhone and issued a huge amount of fines. Last year, the French government also Penalized Apple for its unfair behavior.
Consumer dissatisfaction
According to South Korean media reports, some phenomena of Apple also caused dissatisfaction from South Korean consumers. For example, the price of some models of Apple's mobile phones was higher in South Korea, and it was 187 US dollars higher than markets such as Japan and the United States. Consumers think that Apple is for South Korea. Conducted market discrimination.
In addition, after Apple's speed-down door scandal occurred, a large number of South Korean consumers have filed a lawsuit accusing Apple of obliging scrapping of consumer products. At present these lawsuits have not yet been pronounced.
Korean market
South Korea owns two major smart phone brands, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. Korean consumers used to use their own mobile phones in the past. However, as Apple expanded its marketing, some South Korean consumers also started buying Apple mobile phones. An earlier statistical report showed that Apple's mobile phone has gained a third of the market share in South Korea.
At the end of last year, Apple opened the first direct retail store in South Korea, not far from the headquarters of Samsung. The opening of the retail store also helped Apple expand its market share in South Korea.