[THE INVESTOR] Google and Apple are resisting the Korean government’s legal revision to uninstall preloaded apps on their new mobile devices.

According to local news daily Asia Economy, the two US tech giants have recently offered their official opposition to the planned revision through the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. 

In April, the Korea Communications Commission, the telecom regulator, announced a revision that will allow consumers to delete apps they don’t need.

Following government guidelines announced in 2014, Korean handset manufacturers and telecom carriers are making their preinstalled apps removable but foreign companies such as Google and Apple still resist following the rules that are not legally binding.

Local companies preinstall some 60 apps on new devices but most of them, except three to four key apps, now can be removed.

Google, the operator of the most widely used operating system Android here, installs 11 preloaded apps in Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and 14 in LG’s G5. All the apps, categorized as essential, cannot be removed.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)

Preinstalled apps on Apple’s iPhone