380 thousand Koreans took part in a collective action to protest the Apple Corp's deliberate reduction in the speed of the old iPhone. Last week, the Consumers United for Consumer Sovereignty filed a first lawsuit against apple, but the number of plaintiffs was not much.
However, Hannuri, the South Korean law firm representing the accused, said the participants reached 381001 by 9:54 a.m. on January 12th. Hannuri law firm is planning to represent the iPhone buyers (including iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPhone 6 6S/6S Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone iPhone) to claim damages from Apple Corp.
According to the industry estimates, by the end of last year, the iPhone 6 series and 7 series of products in South Korea were about 10 million. Hannuri law firms and other civil society will continue to invite litigation lawyers to participate in collective action, and it is expected that the scale of collective action will be expanded rapidly.
The Hannuri law firm has been in talks with American law firms, which have brought similar collective action against apple in the United States. Now, the scandal has not only triggered a collective lawsuit for iPhone users in the United States, but also prompted Congress to give a formal explanation of what Apple called the "speed door".
Hanunri's position is to pay close attention to the overseas situation, because if the overseas court decisions are good for consumers, the trial in South Korea may be carried out in a similar way. However, it is not clear whether the US courts will deal with such cases fairly in the US lawsuit against apple.
It is expected that after this process, the Hannuri law firm will begin to take specific legal action in February. To this end, the firm plans to complete the consultation and analysis within this month and finally complete the action plan.
Although Apple Corp come up with compensation plans, including the $50 discount for Apple users to replace the battery, and issued a notice to clarify its position, but the Hanunri law firm, said: "compared to customers with Apple's illegal behavior and the level of damage, especially those who have chosen to buy new iPhone users, the compensation scheme is clearly not enough."
Many folk groups are planning to consider filing a criminal suit against apple and take legal responsibility for the three major mobile operators in South Korea. Koh Kyung-hyun, Secretary General of Korea Consumer Rights Union, said: "if mobile operators sell products and know that iPhone has some problems, they are also responsible for it. In South Korea, the three largest mobile operators are more like iPhone's sales agents. Therefore, we will thoroughly investigate the legal responsibilities they deal with, such as whether they have not reported to the authorities the issues that have been realized. "