South Korea's communications watchdog said Thursday it will seek criminal charges against local mobile carriers for violating the new handset subsidy payment law that caused problems for buyers of Apple Inc.'s new iPhone 6.
  

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said after a meeting that it is also considering referring the executives of the three mobile carriers to the prosecution to hold them responsible for the illegal subsidies. 
   
The move comes weeks after the KCC warned in early November that there will be stern actions against SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Inc., because they paid mobile phone stores subsidies far exceeding the legal limit to woo more customers. 
   
It has been found that some 452 iPhone 6 subscribers were given at least 500,000 won (US$453) in total as a subsidy for each handset, the KCC said.  
   
The new handset distribution law, which took effect Oct. 1, stipulates that mobile carriers are allowed to provide distributors an incentive of no higher than 300,000 won per device. 
  
Subsidy splurges by mobile carriers have long been a problem for the authorities because they distorted prices and adversely affected consumers.
  
The watchdog said the violation is a grave matter because it came less than a month after the new handset law.
   
"We are doubtful for now that we can also hold CEOs (of the mobile carriers) accountable, but it doesn't mean that they'll forever be free from the responsibility if this happens repeatedly," KCC Chairman Choi Sung-joon said following the meeting. 
   
Between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2, some retail shops advertised via Internet community sites that they would sell the 16-gigabyte iPhone 6 at around 250,000 won, or a third of the normal price.

That prompted hundreds of people to line up to get one on the first weekend since its launch.
  

The handset law specifies that a violator can be imposed with a penalty equivalent to 10 percent of their annual revenue. (Yonhap)