43% increase to the 110,000 won range when iPhone 13 is applied
Consumers “Are Korea’s only higher price hikes?”
From the 1st of next month, the battery replacement cost of Apple iPhones in Korea will rise by 34,000 won from now. Battery replacement costs for tablet PCs and laptops are also rising, and the increase is larger than in the US, leading to dissatisfaction among domestic consumers. Currently, replacement costs in Korea are cheaper than in the US, but prices are adjusted to a similar level through price hikes.
According to Apple Korea on the 13th, the iPhone 13 battery replacement cost from March 1st is 113,200 won. This is a 43% increase from the previous 79,200 won. If you get an estimate for the battery replacement cost on the Apple Korea website, you will see a notice saying, “The battery service fee for the iPhone 13 and all previously released iPhone models will increase by 34,000 won.”
On the other hand, in the United States, the cost of battery replacement increased by only $20 for both the iPhone 13 and previous models. As of the last 10 days, when converted to the won-dollar exchange rate, it is about 25,400 won, which is almost 9,000 won lower than Korea. Currently, the cost of replacing an iPhone 13 battery in the US is $69 (approximately 87,600 won).
The 11-inch iPad Pro, a tablet PC, costs 185,000 won to replace the battery, up 53,000 won from the previous one. This, too, rose only $20 in the United States. The increase in burden on Korean consumers to replace the same consumables is more than twice as large as that of US consumers. The cost of battery replacement for the MacBook Air model, which is a notebook, will rise by 50,000 won in Korea, but will increase by only 30 dollars (approximately 38,100 won) in the United States.
For this reason, it is pointed out that it is necessary to accurately explain why Apple raised the cost of battery replacement to domestic consumers more than in the United States. Even if the price of battery consumables is the same, it is because Korea is cheaper in wages, which is the cost of labor force invested in product repair.
Citizens’ Association for Consumer Sovereignty, a civic group, also issued a statement on the 9th, saying, “Apple strongly urges Korean consumers to apply the actual exchange rate for a specific date in a lump sum and to set the rate of increase at the same level as the US.”
