Fair Trade Commission probes Apple Korea office

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission visited the headquarters of Apple’s Korean operation to investigate whether the company violated the country’s economic competition law, an industry source said Saturday.

Apple Korea is suspected of requiring Korean mobile phone carriers to pay the cost of television advertisements and other promotional activities for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

The investigation by government officials at the headquarters of Apple Korea lasted four days and ended on Thursday, according to the source.

An official at the commission declined to confirm whether it had conducted a probe into Apple Korea’s offices. Public relations officers for Apple Korea were not immediately available for comment. Yonhap