Apple Inc. has agreed to allow a senior official to testify before South Korean parliament next week about its customer service, in an apparent bid to fend off criticism over its after-sales policy, parliamentary sources said Tuesday.
Legislators have decided to require Farrel Farhoudi, senior director of Apple's iPod & iPhone Service Operations, to appear at a parliamentary audit session on Oct. 21 to answer questions about the iPhone maker's customer service, they said.
Earlier this month, members of the National Assembly summoned a manager at Apple's Korean unit to give a briefing on the company's after-sales policy.
The South Korean government recommends that phone makers offer free after-sales service to customers during the warranty period.
But controversy has erupted in the country over whether or not Apple's policy to offer a refurbished phone, in place of a new product, should be viewed as free warranty service.
In a previous parliamentary audit, legislators argued that Apple's refurbishment policy diverged from the country's recommended after-sales service.
Refurbished phones refer to those mobile handsets that have been returned to a factory to be rebuilt and returned to brand-new condition.
The parliamentary audit session will be the first chance for South Korean lawmakers and the public to hear directly from Apple about its after-sales policy, industry watchers said.