South Korea Fines Samsung $15M Over Galaxy Gaming

The Korea Fair Trade Commission said Tuesday that Samsung’s advertising omitted material information about its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, which automatically restricted processing power when users launched certain graphics-intensive games.

The decision covers the Galaxy S21 and S22 smartphone series and the Galaxy Tab S8 tablets, according to the commission’s official announcement and reports by Yonhap News Agency and The Korea Economic Daily Global.

Samsung disputed the ruling, arguing that the software was designed to support stable gaming over extended periods. The company said it would defend its position through legal proceedings, according to Yonhap.

Processor speeds restricted during gaming

At the center of the case is Samsung’s GOS software, which manages heat generation and power consumption by regulating the performance of a device’s central processing unit and graphics processing unit.

The regulator distinguished between conventional thermal management, which adjusts processing speeds according to a device’s temperature, and Samsung’s game-specific restrictions, which imposed predetermined performance limits immediately after certain games were launched.

In one example cited by the commission, the Galaxy S22’s maximum CPU speed dropped from 2.99 gigahertz to 0.94 gigahertz when running PUBG: New State. Its graphics processor was capped at 220 megahertz, compared with a maximum of 818 megahertz.

That meant the device could operate at less than one-third of its advertised maximum processing speeds in certain gaming conditions.

The restrictions affected 82 games on the Galaxy S21 series, 47 on the Galaxy S22 series and eight on the Galaxy Tab S8 series, according to the regulator.

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The commission said those limitations could contribute to delayed responses, interrupted gameplay and reduced graphics quality when applications demanded additional processing power.

Advertising claims under scrutiny

Samsung emphasized powerful processors, responsive displays and smooth gameplay in marketing campaigns between January 2021 and March 2022.

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The regulator found that the company failed to adequately inform consumers that its software could prevent devices from reaching their maximum processing capabilities during certain games.

The commission concluded that the omissions constituted deceptive advertising under South Korea’s Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising, potentially affecting purchasing decisions among consumers seeking high-performance smartphones and tablets.

Alongside the provisional financial penalty, the regulator issued a corrective order.

The commission said its decision underscored manufacturers’ responsibility to disclose significant technical limitations when promoting particular product capabilities.

Samsung challenges the decision

Samsung rejected the regulator’s conclusions and said it would pursue legal remedies.

In a statement reported by Yonhap, the company maintained that GOS was intended to optimize gaming and help devices operate consistently during extended use.

Samsung also pointed to the resolution of related legal disputes in South Korea and overseas, saying the lawsuits had concluded and the complainants had withdrawn their filings with the competition authority.

The company said it would present its arguments through the legal process.

The controversy dates to 2022, when Galaxy S22 users raised concerns that Samsung’s software was limiting processing speeds during games even though benchmark applications could register higher performance.

Source: Market Screen