South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) prepared a consultation over a settlement proposed by Apple’s local unit to address concerns it abuses its dominant positions in the apps and device markets which would see the US company stump up KRW100 billion ($84.2 million) in total.
In a statement, the Commission revealed it would commence a 40-day consultation tomorrow (25 August) to reach a final decision on a range of Apple proposals to address claims around “abuse of transactional status”.
These include plans to share advertising costs and improve consultation procedures, “abolishing warranty repair promotion costs” and a broad uplift in its backing for SMEs, the Commission explained.
The FTC started an investigation [1] in September 2019 to determine whether the iPhone maker abused its market power in dealings with operators by forcing them to pay for advertising and warranty repairs.
Reporting, The Korea Herald noted Apple agreed to play fair with operators over advertising expenses and remove a clause requiring them to pay for repairs.
Apple pledged to allocate KRW40 billion to establish an R&D centre for SMEs and KRW35 billion for developer training. The remaining KRW25 billion is earmarked for discounts on iPhone repair costs, the newspaper wrote.
In April 2018, the FTC said it would penalise Apple for forcing operators to cover the cost of iPhone advertising and repairs following a two-year investigation. Apple offered to make a range of corrective actions [2].
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/korea-trade-watchdog-renews-focus-on-apple
[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/devices/news-devices/apple-seeks-to-avoid-korea-competition-charges
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