An office worker, surnamed Kim, has replaced his iPhone 15 times in the 20 days since he purchased it.

Kim’s is not a rare case in Korea, where Apple, the California-based handset maker, has offered a very limited after-sales service policy.

Despite frequent glitches and failures, it is difficult for iPhone users here to demand replacements or free repair services, and they are given a random refurbished phone after a waiting period.

However, such inconveniences will be largely relieved from next month following a recent agreement between Korea’s antitrust regulator and Apple.

The Fair Trade Commission said Wednesday that Apple has agreed to offer improved after-sales services in Korea, including replacement of faulty phones with a new product.

According to FTC, iPhone users can demand replacement with a new product starting as early as mid-October when any defect happens within one month from purchase.

Even after the guarantee period, the antitrust agency said, a new mobile phone can be claimed when it is obvious the malfunction is caused by the handset maker, not the user.

The policy will also offer repair services for malfunctions occurring after iPhones have been connected to a PC. Until now, Apple has refused to do so saying a PC is a different type of device.”

If a defect has not originated from another gadget itself, the malfunctioning iPhone can be exchanged with a new one, the FTC said.

“Korean iPhone users would enjoy the best after-sales service in the world,” said Lee Soon-mi, a FTC official.

Following a growing list of complaints here, including one that a replacement is allowed within 15 days in China, the FTC launched an investigation last year into any unfair activities conducted by Apple here.

Even though there are more than 3 million iPhone users, Apple does not operate direct, off-line stores here and has been passive in responding to the growing sense of discontent among Korean customers.

After fierce discussions over the past months, the Korean government finally succeeded in persuading Apple to revise its after-sales service policy. It was unprecedented worldwide.

“Apple remained firm but agreed that it will abide by local laws and improve its after-sales service quality,” the official said.

The renewed policy applies only to iPhone, while the service for other Apple products such as iPad and Macbook remains the same.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)