Fact check: The reason Apple 's iPhone series entered the Korean market three years later than other countries was entirely due to thorough and systematic sabotage by large Korean companies. Among these was Samsung Electronics, and it is said that Lee Jae-yong , then vice president of Samsung Electronics , directly requested SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to block the introduction of the iPhone into Korea. And Choi Tae-won accepted this request, and SK Telecom has continued to block the introduction of iPhone into Korea. The ones who actually blocked the introduction were telecommunication companies such as SK and KT, but Samsung Electronics was behind the scenes. Given the circumstances, it is presumed that the same request was made not only to SK but also to other telecommunication companies such as KT. The reason is that data call fee income and mobile phone sales, which were one of the main sources of income for Korean telecommunications companies at the time, would decrease. Instead of competing fairly as a large company, it used cowardly tactics to force the Korean people to experience the inconvenience of not being able to use the iPhone series for three years, which is considered one of Samsung Electronics' atrocities that are still criticized from time to time.[4] However, the trend could not be ignored, and in the end, KT officially released the iPhone 3GS through its mobile carrier in 2009, defeating the leader in introducing the iPhone series for the first time in Korea, leading to a conflict between Samsung Electronics and KT. Samsung Electronics also released the Samsung Omnia series to counter the popularity of the iPhone , but as we all know, the result was a disastrous failure, and Samsung Electronics inevitably suffered a blow to its image, with the company being labeled as 'Omlegi' for a while. Afterwards, former KT chairman Lee Seok-chae revealed in an e-mail sent to in-house employees that the South Korean conglomerate had blocked the introduction of the iPhone, saying, "We introduced an innovative iPhone, but we did not expect that the two chaebol companies would be so strong in blocking it." Even after the introduction of the iPhone series, several mobile carriers, including Samsung Electronics, resisted by highlighting the shortcomings of the iPhone and spreading unpleasant comments promoting the excellence of their products in order to tarnish the image of the iPhone. A legendary article that shows the atmosphere of the Korean media at that time . In addition, the Hankook Ilbo article about the above-mentioned Lee Jae-yong's request to SK Group to block the introduction of iPhones was also deleted, causing additional controversy. Controversy over deletion of 'iPhone article' in Hankook Ilbo.