Apple Offices in South Korea Raided Ahead of iPhone X Launch
It seems Apple will have to go through some bumps and hiccups in its goal of taking its latest product right through the heart of the South Korean market.
According to a report from Metro, the offices of Apple in Seoul were raided by South Korean authorities who were inquiring about the company's business practices. The timing, however, appeared to be suspect, considering the raid happened ahead of the iPhone X launch in the country.
South Korea is the country where the headquarters of other tech giants like Samsung and LG are located.
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The report said that the raid will likely raise questions and fuel speculations concerning the authorities' possible attempt to derail launching of the Apple's latest smartphone. Moreover, the report also noted that Apple products have earned a strong following in South Korea in recent years. The iPhone X pre-order slots quickly sold out, signaling the people's warm reception for the product.
Meanwhile, The Economic Business Times noted that the not-so-fair dealings of the Korea Fair Trade Commission. The commission has already been accused of protecting local companies from foreign competitors in the past.
Furthermore, the report also said that Apple had already been investigated last year in relation to forging unfair contracts with some of South Korea's local phone networks. The contracts allegedly involved Apple and some local firms that were tapped by the company to repair iPhones and other Apple gadgets.
Apple's strong presence in the Korean smartphone market started in 2015 when it controlled 33 percent of the market share during the launching on the iPhone 6, the report added.
The iPhone X has recently been making the headlines for the wrong reasons. Some of its users have reported different kinds of issues affecting their overall usage the smartphone. One of the more controversial issues involved the smartphone becoming unresponsive during cold weather.
The Verge reported that Apple was quick to acknowledge the issue and released the iOS 11.1.2 update to address the problem.
