South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has opened an investigation into “some matters” related to Apple, Reuters reports. FTC Chairman Jeong Jae-chan refused to disclose any further details of the investigation, but earlier this month domestic news outlets reported that the FTC was looking into Apple’s contracts with the country’s mobile telecom providers.
Apple is no stranger to anti-competition scrutiny from foreign regulators. Last year Apple was fined $650,000 for requiring telecom partners in Taiwan to gain the company’s approval for iPhone prices, subsidies, advertising content and price differentials between old and new phone models. Then in April, France’s Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Fraud filed a complaint with the Commercial Court in Paris alleging Apple’s contracts with carriers are “significantly unbalanced” in favor of Apple, asking for 48.5 million euros in damages.
