South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Apple’s marketing contracts with the country’s mobile operators, alleging that its business practices may be unfair.

Sources claim Apple pressured operators to order a minimum volume of promotional iPhones and share the burden of repair costs, Korea Times reported.

The antitrust watchdog is examining operators’ contracts with Apple and plans to investigate Apple Korea soon.

This latest probe comes six months after the FTC found unfair business contracts between Apple Korea and its authorised iPhone repair service firms and ordered Apple to change the contracts and allow customers refunds for repair services.

The newspaper said the FTC is likely to fine Apple and urge it to revise its contracts with operators if any similar unfair terms are discovered during its investigation.

Unlike with Android smartphones, operators generally don’t offer subsidies for iPhones, so Apple may have required operators to support its marketing activities, an analyst told the Times.