<p>Telecom regulator Korea Communications Commission (KCC) says it will punish SK Telecom and KT if the two local telcos offer illegal subsidies to attract more iPhone 5 customers.</p><p>According to The Korea Times on Tuesday, the regulator will conduct a thorough investigation of the mobile carriers from Dec. 7 onward, the date which Apple's latest iPhone launches in the market. "We believe chances are high that the carriers will offer illegal subsidies to attract more customers. That's against the law," an official from the agency said in the report.</p><p>KCC also summoned marketing executives from the local carriers and ordered them not to give excessive subsidies for the new Apple handsets, the official noted. These executives confirmed with the Korean news site they had been warned by the regulator, but their company's official spokespersons declined to confirm due to the sensitivity of the issue.</p><p>It is expected KCC will prevent carriers from signing up new customers for a week if they violate rules related to handset subsidies, according to the officials from the regulator.</p><p><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/korean-regulator-warns-against-illegal-iphone-5-subsidies-7000008324/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/12/korea-communications-commission-warns-carriers-over-excessive-iphone-5-subsidies/">Korea Communications Commission warns carriers over "excessive" iPhone 5 ...</a> (Ubergizmo)</p><p><a href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2012/12/the-iphone-5-could-spark-market-share-revival-in-korea-despite-korean-government-penalties-against-carriers.html">The iPhone 5 Could Spark Market Share Revival in Korea despite Korean ...</a> (Patently Apple)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dl96bZ1hJQEIUMMFaCB0W8XGhvh_M&ned=us">6 additional articles.</a></p>