FTC slams a 400 million won fine on Samsung

South Korea-based, Samsung Electronics have had to, reportedly pay through the nose for having allegedly created roadblocks during an inquiry as part of an investigation by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) looking into deceptive mobile pricing practices. In fact, if a report by The Korea Herald is anything to go by then the fine Samsung have had to pay is the highest that FTC has fined anyone before for obstructing an official investigation, i.e. 400 million won (US$356,000). The report states that when the investigators were on an on-site visit, the South Korean company's management and other employees with help from the security officials delayed investigators, they not only managed to delete data on computers, but also provided the investigators with false data. The investigation, in question was being carried by FTC to gauge the mobile pricing practices followed by Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom, KT, LG U+, Pantech and LG Electronics. The FTC, in its statement made it clear that the aforementioned companies had reportedly joined forces secretly and inflated the prices of the cell phones and later advertised to the consumers that they were offering these phones with good discount rates, often leading the clueless consumer to believe that they were getting a good bargain.Click here for full story