Apple hired former Samsung executive Brandon Yoon to head up its operations in South Korea, as it seeks to improve its position in a country where it was recently accused of abusing its market position.

Yoon was corporate VP at Samsung Electronics, Apple’s Korea-based rival, and previously spent a few years at Microsoft. He is now general manager of Apple Korea.

Earlier this month the Korea Fair Trade Commission said it would impose penalties on Apple for forcing mobile operators to cover costs for iPhone advertising and device repair, following a long-running investigation into the smartphone company’s practices.

Apple Korea was also accused of imposing its own advertising guidelines without sharing any associated costs.

The US vendor has not enjoyed the smoothest of sailings in Korea. In 2012, it fired the region’s head amid slow iPhone sales.

According to Strategy Analytics, Apple held an 18 per cent of the Korean smartphone market in 2017, behind Samsung’s 56 per cent. Earlier this year, it opened its first retail store in the country.