63,000 Koreans sue Apple for slowing iPhones

A total of 63,000 iPhone users in Korea are suing Apple headquarters and its Korean operation for intentionally slowing the performance of their devices, according to Hannuri, a Seoul-based law firm that represents the group of plaintiffs on Monday. The suits will be filed on March 29.

Each plaintiff is demanding 200,000 won ($185) from Apple for secretly slowing down the performance of iPhones with old batteries, totaling 12.7 billion won in damages claimed. In December, Apple admitted that it intentionally slowed the performance of some iPhones to prevent unexpected shutdowns of the devices. The company is facing class action suits in many countries, including the United States, Canada and Europe.

The number of plaintiffs participating in the suit is the largest in Korean history for a single case. In 2014, 55,000 users sued three credit card issuers for personal data leakage.

Class action suits for general claims are not allowed in the Korean legal system. Only plaintiffs claiming certain types of securities-related damages can file class action suits. Consumer groups can also bring legal action against companies on behalf of consumers under the Consumer Act.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun@joongang.co.kr]