iPhone 8’s swelling battery problem appears in South Korea for the first time. This is the first time Apple acknowledged such problem from a consumer in South Korea and exchanged faulty iPhone with a new one.
Kim Min-cheol (37 years old), who lives in Ulsan-si, announced through its interview with The Electronic Times on the 14th that he exchanged his old iPhone 8 that he purchased earlier this month with a new iPhone 8 at an Apple AS (After Service) center due to swelling battery problem.
He preordered iPhone 8 through an online cellphone shopping mall and received his iPhone 8 through a shipping service. He then activated it through a mobile network provider. He found out about the problem after using it for just four days and although he inquired the online shopping mall regarding an exchange, he was told that he needed to visit an Apple AS center.
“Gap between the front and the back of iPhone 8 widened as the battery swelled and I was even able to see the top of iPhone 8’s sound button.” said Kim Min-cheol. “Although I did not see any possibilities of heating or explosion, I was pretty showed to see this problem that I used to see only from foreign news.”
Apple AS center acknowledged such problem and exchanged his old iPhone 8 with a new iPhone 8. “New iPhone 8 has not had swelling battery problem.” said Kim Min-cheol.
Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) announced that it may carry out safety inspection on iPhone 8s or order for recalls as needed as iPhone 8’s swelling battery problem occurred in South Korea.
“Because there were already cases of this problem in other countries, we have been paying careful attention to such problem.” said a representative for KATS.
“Although this case that happened in South Korea is a slight problem, we can carry out formal inspections based on legal grounds or order for recalls if the same case happens in other parts of South Korea.”
Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) is also taking a same stance as KATS. “If KATS orders for recalls, we are going to mediate based on a ‘guideline for device recalls’ so that there are not any problems between consumers, distribution network, and mobile network providers.” said a representative for MSIT.
“We have yet to hear any follow-up measures for this problem that we requested from the president of Apple Korea.” said a representative for Korea Mobile Distribution Association. “We hope that Apple shows some responsibilities.”
Apple Korea has not announced any official stance regarding the exchange of iPhone 8 due to swelling battery problem.
Staff Reporter Choi, Jaepil | jpchoi@etnews.com