#701, Seoul YWCA, 1-1, Myeongdong 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul  (Postal code: 100-021)

Report Data

Provision Date:	July 28, 2010
Person in Charge:	Secretary-General Choi Su-gyeong
	Head of Team Jo Jun-ha
Tel:	774-4050

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations reports Smart Phone-related counseling cases and warnings for consumers.

The Korean National Council of Consumer Organizations (Chairperson: Kin Jae-ok) reported consumer warnings in order to prevent consumer damage and Smart Phone-related consumer counseling cases received via the telephone number 1372 of the Consumer Counseling Center during the first half of 2010.

Smart Phone-related counseling is on the rise: 195 counseling cases were received in June.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Total
Cases	28	52	74	90	78	195	517

The following number of Smart Phone-related counseling cases were reported during the first half of 2010:28 cases in January, 52 cases in February, 74 v in March, and 195 v in June, which showed a gradual increase. This result is due to the fact that as the supply of Smart Phones is expanding, counseling cases are also increasing, accordingly.

In terms of cell phone manufacturers, consumer counseling cases related to iPhone Applications are the most.

Manufacturer	Product Group	Counseling Cases	Counseling cases-related to machine	Other counseling cases	Machine-related cases by manufacturer	Estimated sales by manufacturer
Motorola	Motorola	16	14	2	14	100,000
Samsung Electronics	Galaxy A	9	9		59	1,230,000
	Galaxy S	1	1
	SHOW Omnia	2	1	1
	OZ Omnia	1	1	1
	T Omnia	17	15	2
	T Omnia 2	6	4	2
	Unidentified products	34	28	6
Sony Erickson	Xperia	3	3		3	-
Sky	Sirius	2	2		2	110,000
Apple	iPhone	365	227	138	227	600,000
LG Electronics	MAXX	4	3	1	5	50,000
	Unidentified products	2	2
RIM	Black Berry	10	5	5	5	-
Unidentified manufacturers		53	11	42	11	-
Total		517	336	181	336	-

Among the counseling cases related to cell phone machines, counseling on Apple's iPhone was the most (227 cases), followed by Samsung's Galaxy and Omnia (59 cases), Motorola's Motorola (14 cases), and RIM's Black Berry (5 cases).

Among the counseling cases related to manufacturers, complaints related to products and refunds were the most.

Manufacturer	Simple inquiries about defects	Complaints about product refund and exchange	Complaints about A/S	Complaints about paid repairs during the product warranty period	Complaints about ripper policy	Complaints about ads	Total
Motorola	4	2	4			4	14
Samsung Electronics	10	27	16			6	59
Sony Erickson	1	2					3
Sky		2					2
Apple	19	75	25	67	40	1	227
LG Electronics	2	2	1				5
RIM		5					5
Unidentified manufacturer	3	17	1				21
Total	39	132	47	67	40	11	336

In terms of the reasons of counseling, consumer counseling regarding refund and exchange were the most (132 cases). In the case of Apple's iPhone, consumers' complaints about the ripper compensation policy, which is new in Korea, were relatively high (40 cases).

# Complaints regarding product refund and exchange: According to the Standard of Settlement for Consumer Conflicts, if malfunctions occur five times, the seller should refund money to consumers or replace with a new phone. However, my dealer refused to refund or exchange claiming that the stopping phenomenon of my cell phone was due to software defects.

# of A/S complaint cases: My phone did not work, so I went to the A/S center. They told me that I should use a replacement phone until they got a ripper phone, but the replacement model did not have Internet function. I asked them to change my Internet fee system during the time that I was using the replacement phone, but they refused to change.

# Counseling cases regarding paid repairs during the product warranty period: My cell phone kept malfunctioning, so I went to the A/S center. They told me the phenomenon was occurring due to waterlogging, so I should pay for the repair. I never immersed my phone in water. Simply based on the results of their litmus test, they insisted that it was my fault and asked me to pay 300,000 won for repairs.

# Complaints regarding the repair policy: I was getting really bad reception, so I decided to get a ripper phone from the A/S center, but they told me that they were out of the same ripper phone as my model, so they gave me another ripper model.

# Complaints regarding ads: The Smart Phone advertised that their machine has 8GB in their CF, but in actuality, the machine had only 100MB application installation capacity.

Among the product defect symptoms, poor communication connection and speaker defects were the most.

Defect / Manufacturer	Motorola	Samsung	Sony Erickson	Sky	Apple Computer	LG	RIM	Unidentified	Total
Poor reception and speaker defect	3	4	1		45		2	2	57
Software defect	3	14			7	3		3	30
Power defect	1	7			17			1	26
Touch pad defect	1	5			16			3	25
LCD defect		1	1		22				24
Internet defect		1		1	13	1		1	17
Case defect		1			15		1		17
Stopping phenomenon		9			3	1			13
Battery defect		1			5			1	7
Earphone terminal defect					5				5
Battery charge defect	1			1	3				5
Text transmission malfunction		1			1				2
Camera defect					1				1
Total	9	44	2	2	153	5	3	11	229

Among 336 complaints related to manufacturer, complaints regarding product defects were 229 cases, and counseling on the defects of reception and speaker was the most (57 cases). However, in the case of Samsung Electronics, counseling regarding software defect (14 cases) and the stopping phenomenon (9 cases) was the highest.

Among the mobile phone service providers, consumer counseling regarding KT was the most.

Service Provider	Product Group	Case	Cases of counseling regarding sales, fees, and phone services	Other Cases	Cases of counseling regarding sales, fees, and phone services by service provider
KT	SHOW Omnia	2	1	1	143
	iPhone	365	138	227
	Unidentified products	7	4	3
LG	OZ Omnia	1		1	4
	MAXX	4	1	3
	Unidentified products	6	3	3
SK	Galaxy A	9		9	23
	Galaxy S	1		1
	Motorola	16	2	14
	Black Berry	10	5	5
	Sirius	2		2
	Xperia	3		3
	T Omnia	17	2	15
	T Omnia 2	6	2	4
	Unidentified products	15	12	3
Unidentified service provider		53	11	42	11
Total		517	181	336	181

Among the telecom service providers, complaints about KT were the most (143 cases), and most of the counseling was about Apple's iPhone (138 cases). In the case of LG U+, the number of counseling cases was relatively low (4 cases) because the sales of their Smart Phones were not high.

Among the reasons of counseling regarding telecom service providers, complaints about the price policy were the highest.

Telecom service provider	Price policy	Complaints about telecom services	Fees	Internet fees	Sales method	Insurance	Other	Total
KT	50	10	13	11	39	19	1	143
LG		1		1	2			4
SK	2	2	2	6	11			23
Unidentified	2		1	1	6		1	11
Total	54	13	16	19	58	19	2	181

Among the reasons of counseling regarding telecom service providers, complaints about sales methods such as not explaining in detail the specifications of products and fees or sales through events were the highest (58 cases). Complaints about the price policy during sales were also relatively high (54 cases).

# Complaints regarding the price policy: On June 1, 2010, I bought a Smart Phone at the price of 420,000 won. The dealer told me that a new model will come out in 2011, so I decided to buy this, but the new model came out in July, the price of the model that I purchased would be lowered by 130,000 won. In less than a month, they lowered the price, they refuse to refund consumers. I think this is unfair.

# Complaints about telecom service providers: When I tried to call in my room, I could not call, so I reported this problem to my telecom service provider, but they told me that they would make a hole in the interior walls at my home. I told them it would look architecturally bad and I worried about harmful electromagnetic waves, and I requested them to come up with a better solution, but they told me they had no other method.

# Complaints regarding Internet fees: Before I traveled to Japan, I requested the service of data roaming for my Smart Phone. Later, my service provider sent me a text message saying that the data roaming fees exceeded 200,000 won and 300,000 won. When I inquired about their text message, they told me that simply turning on my phone could activate data update automatically and charge fees, and that they could not refund my money.

# Complaints regarding insurance: I am using a Smart Phone. When I called an insurance company to buy insurance against theft or loss, they told me that I could not buy it because I bought my phone more than 30 days ago. I think that this 30-day limit policy is unfair. I also complain about the dealer who sold my phone without giving me information about insurance.

Warnings for consumers when purchasing and using Smart Phones:

The Korean National Council of Consumer Organizations reported warnings for consumers regarding the following Smart Phone cases and consumer damage cases.

△ Before purchasing a Smart Phone and joining in mobile phone services, consumers should check the specifications of the product, A/S policy, date of product issue, fees, contract period, and the terms of insurance, and keep a copy of Total agreement.

△ When a Smart Phone has defects, consumers should immediately request A/S from the manufacturer, and keep related records.

△ When using wireless Internet, consumers should check whether they are using 3G or WiFi, and should not rely on real-time checks of used quantity.

△ When using overseas data roaming, consumers should check the terms of fees, and should check whether they set an automatic update function on their Smart Phone.

△ Consumers should check each month's mobile phone service billing carefully, and if there is any abnormality in the billing, consumers should check with their service provider.

△ When consumers have complaints about Smart Phones or service providers, they should contact the consumer counseling center (Tel: 1372) for help.

The Korean National Council of Consumer Organizations requests that mobile phone manufacturers and service providers cooperate in preparing appropriate measures.

The Korean National Council of Consumer Organizations held a meeting to establish measures for resolving consumers' damages on July 9, 2010 in the presence of Smart Phone manufacturers, telecom service providers, dealers, and concerned representatives of government agencies. We sent public statements to three manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Apple Korea, as well as to two telecom service providers such as SK Telecom and KT, We asked them to cooperate in preparing measures for preventing consumer damages in the future.

July 28, 2010

The Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations

Group Member

Green Consumers Network, Korea Federation of Housewives Clubs, Citizens Alliance for Consumer Protection of Korea, National Council of Housewives Classes, Korea Women's Association, Korea Consumer Affairs Institute, Korea Consumer Education Center, Consumers Union of Korea, National Council of YMCAs of Korea, YWCA of Korea