Apple’s offices in S Korea raided; critics allege protectionism
24 Nov 2017
Apple's offices in Seoul, South Korea have been reportedly raided, just ahead of the iPhone X launch in the country.
The latest iPhone, already a runaway bestseller in India and other markets, will be available in South Korea and several other Asian countries from today.
While both Apple and South Korean authorities are silent on the reason for the raids, a report in Metro.UK on Thursday said it was done with regard to Apple's business practices in the country.
According to both Metro and Apple Insider, the timing of the raid gives rise to suspicions that it could have been done to hamper the success of the iPhone X. Though Apple products are very popular in South Korea, it is the home of several major rivals including Samsung and LG.
While Samsung's flagships for the year - Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 - have done well in terms of sales, the iPhone X has definitely outperformed them globally. Apple's devices are also fast catching up to Samsung's offerings in South Korea itself.
Reports say that authorities visited Apple's office and questioned the Cupertino-based company's business practices. South Korean authorities are also concerned about some 'unfair' contracts that it had with South Korean firms commissioned to repair iPhones and other gadgets.
An investigation was launched last year by the South Korean Free Trade Commission into Apple's business dealings will local carriers. The FTC has been specifically looking into the company's contract terms with local carriers, which included the carriers signing up for a specific number of iPhones, sharing repair costs and the limitation period of a year on all repair firms for any disputes with Apple.
Samsung, on the other hand, has been previously accused of bribing South Korean government officials - its heir Lee Jae-Yong was arrested last year on bribery and other charges.
The South Korean government was accused in 2015 by Roger Kay, the associate president of tech company Endpoint Technologies, of running a protectionist agenda in the country. In an article in Forbes, Kay accused the South Korean FTC of giving preferential treatment to local firms over international rivals.
''The KFTC has pretty much run amok in recent years, slapping spurious charges on foreign companies as it attempts to execute a protectionist agenda that it thinks benefits entrenched South Korean manufacturing interests,'' Kay stated in his article.
Despite such issues, Apple has been steadily gaining traction in the South Korean smartphone market and currently holds a massive 33 per cent market share in the country.
The iPhone X, initially available only for pre-order from the company's online store, has been already declared sold out in South Korea since pre-order opened in the country. It has been reported that the device's pre-orders in the country exceed 300,000.
