Samsung received a record fine on Monday for obstructing an inquiry from South Korea's trade regulator, which was investigating mobile phone pricing practices.
According to a Fair Trade Commission
statement,
Samsung employees sabotaged an FTC inverstigation by delaying the entrance of FTC officials into Samsung's site in Suwon, in order to delete sensitive data on their computers first. When the inverstigators were finally let into the site, most of the employees had already gone, FTC added.
Samsung was fined 400 million won (US$355,600).
On Thursday, the Korean FTC also announced fines against SK Telecom, KT, LG U+ along with Samsung Electronics, Pantech and LG Electronics for improper mobile phone pricing practices. The companies were collectively fined 45.8 billion won.