Metro.co.uk has reported that the raid will likely raise questions about whether South Korean authorities are trying to target Apple’s business in their country.
Apple products are hugely popular in South Korea and the iPhone X sold out when it became available for pre-order.
However, the country is home to several tech giants such as Samsung and LG, and South Korea will reportedly look into whether foreign firms are damaging the domestic smartphone market.
Last year, South Korea also launched an investigation in an effort to discover whether Apple made some “unfair” contracts with local phone networks, the publication reported.
Roger Kay, president of the tech analysis firm Endpoint Technologies Associates, previously accused South Korea of having a “protectionist agenda.” In an article for Forbes, he wrote, “The Korea Fair Trade Commission has pretty much run amok in recent years, slapping spurious charges on foreign companies.”
Meanwhile, Samsung recently launched a plan in South Korea called “Upgrade to Galaxy” offering up to 10,000 iPhone users a one-month trial of the Galaxy Note 8 or Galaxy S8.
In August 2017, Lee Jae-yong, acting chairman of Samsung, was jailed for five years for corruption and on charges of taking bribes and committing perjury.
