SEOUL – Samsung has been fined 20.1 billion won, approximately $15 million, in South Korea over advertisements that allegedly misled customers about the gaming performance of its smartphones and tablets.
South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced the penalty on October 27. It accused the company of failing to disclose performance restrictions affecting the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy S22 series and Galaxy Tab S8 series. The regulator also ordered Samsung to correct its advertising practices.
Samsung accused of concealing gaming restrictions
The case centres on Samsung’s Game Optimizing Service (GOS), a built-in feature designed to manage device temperature and performance during gaming.
According to the FTC, Samsung promoted the affected devices for their gaming capabilities without adequately informing customers about the software’s limitations.
The service automatically reduced the processing power of the central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) when certain demanding games were launched.
The restrictions applied regardless of the device’s temperature or operating condition, the regulator said.
As a result, users experienced issues such as lag, freezing and reduced graphics quality while playing games.
The FTC found that Samsung’s advertisements highlighted the devices’ gaming performance but omitted important information about these restrictions. The advertisements in question ran between January 2021 and March 2022.
Samsung updated software after complaints
The controversy intensified following the launch of the Galaxy S22 series in 2022, when users raised concerns about GOS and its effect on gaming performance.
Samsung released a software update in March 2022 that allowed users to bypass the restrictions.
However, the FTC concluded that the company’s earlier advertisements had already misled consumers. It also considered Samsung’s efforts to address the issue when determining the penalty.
Samsung plans to challenge the fine
Samsung has disputed the regulator’s findings and intends to challenge the penalty through legal proceedings.
The company says GOS was designed to manage heat and maintain stable performance during extended gaming sessions.
It argues that heat management is a common challenge for smartphone manufacturers and that the software was intended to improve the gaming experience, rather than mislead customers.
Samsung has also highlighted the software update released in March 2022, which gave users the option to bypass the performance restrictions.
Earlier lawsuits failed to secure compensation
The controversy has also prompted legal action against Samsung in South Korea and other countries.
Around 1,800 Galaxy S22 users filed a lawsuit seeking compensation over the performance restrictions.
In June 2025, a South Korean court acknowledged concerns about the advertisements but dismissed the compensation claims, finding that the users had not sufficiently demonstrated financial harm.
Samsung maintains that no court has established that customers suffered compensable damages because of its advertising.
The latest FTC decision, however, concerns whether the company adequately informed consumers about the performance restrictions when promoting the affected devices. Samsung plans to pursue further legal proceedings to challenge the penalty.
Key points:
- South Korea has fined Samsung 20.1 billion won, or approximately $15 million, over misleading advertisements for its Galaxy devices.
- The regulator said Samsung failed to disclose gaming performance restrictions imposed by its Game Optimizing Service (GOS).
- The affected products include the Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy S22 series and Galaxy Tab S8 series.
- Samsung released a software update in March 2022 that allowed users to bypass the restrictions.
- The company disputes the regulator’s findings and plans to challenge the penalty through legal proceedings.
