Apple defends allegation of abuse of power by South Korean body

Last April, Apple found itself in the midst of a problem in the territory of its main competitor in the smartphone world: the consumer protection agency of South Korea declared the company guilty in an action that accused Ma of abuse of power over local operators. Today, Cupertino replied.

Just adding context to the story, the Korean body made the accusation based on a few facts: first, Apple would be forcing operators in the country to bear all advertising costs for Ma's devices, even though the advertising materials are entirely produced by the company itself. Apple and standardized worldwide.

In addition, the Cupertino giant would place in the hands of operators the responsibility to pay for repairs carried out under warranty and impose minimum unit purchase volumes; all of this, according to the Korean body, would represent a case of Ma's abuse of power. Apple, incidentally, has already been fined for similar behavior in Taiwan and France.

At the end of the last week, the agency granted Apple a right of reply. Ma then acknowledged that she carries out the practices listed, but disagrees that they represent a case of abuse of power, as reported by the Korea Herald:

During the second week of deliberations, which took place in the last week, Apple declared its actions as justified, saying that the company does have an advantage over local operators in terms of negotiation, but it has no real control power that it can exercise . Apple said that advertising benefits both itself and Korean operators, and action is fully justified.

If the Korean body does not agree with the answer given by Apple, the company could be fined up to 2% of the profits related to the activities mentioned in the case, that is, the sale of iPhones through South Korean operators. The decision is expected to come out in the coming weeks.

via Cult of Mac