The Fair Trade Commission(FTC) has begun discussing whether or not to seek sanctions against Apple Korea which faces suspicions of forcing South Korean mobile carriers to pay for advertisement fees and repair costs for Apple phones. 

The commission held its first meeting on the matter on Wednesday. 

A market observer estimated that Apple forced three South Korean mobile carriers to pay 20 billion won in advertisement costs on annual average for years. 

The antitrust watchdog has been probing Apple Korea for the past two years on allegations it abused its superior status in transactions. 

A decision on whether Apple Korea will face sanctions is set to come out around the first half of next year.