Jakarta, ThedailyID — Samsung has been fined 20.1 billion won, equivalent to approximately US$15 million or Rp272.3 billion, by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) over allegedly misleading advertisements about the gaming performance of several Galaxy devices.
The penalty concerns marketing claims involving the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22 and Galaxy Tab S8. According to the FTC, Samsung promoted these products as offering premium gaming experiences without adequately disclosing software restrictions that could affect their actual performance.
“Samsung misled consumers about gaming performance and interfered with their rational purchasing decisions,” the FTC said, as quoted by BGR on October 28, 2026.
Samsung had highlighted features such as powerful processors, memory capacity, 5G connectivity, high-quality graphics and adaptive refresh rates of up to 120Hz to promote the devices’ gaming capabilities.
However, users reportedly experienced performance limitations linked to Samsung’s preinstalled Game Optimizing Service (GOS). The software automatically applied CPU and GPU performance restrictions when certain games were launched.
According to the FTC, GOS was installed by default and could not be removed by users. Unlike conventional thermal throttling, which reduces processor performance when temperatures become excessive, the system could limit performance without waiting for the device to reach a specific temperature threshold.
Samsung argued that the restrictions were intended to maintain device stability and ensure games could run reliably over extended periods.
The FTC nevertheless concluded that failing to clearly disclose the GOS restrictions while advertising premium gaming capabilities constituted misleading advertising under South Korean law.
Samsung has challenged the penalty, arguing that no court has established that consumers suffered losses because of the advertisements. The company said it would continue presenting its position through subsequent legal proceedings, according to Seoul Economic Daily.
