South Korea Apple Developer Academy opening in 2022

A new Apple Developer Academy and Manufacturing R&D Support Center will be opening up in South Korea in 2022, launching as part of Apple's settlement to end an antitrust investigation with the country's Fair Trade Commission.

Announced on Monday, the Apple Developer Academy and Manufacturing R&D Support Center will be opening in 2022 inside Pohang University of Science and Technology in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.

The academy will provide free training to Korean residents over the age of 19, in a nine-month program. Applications to take part in the program will open within the coming months.

According to Apple, the academy was created to help entrepreneurs, developers, and designers find and create jobs within the iOS app ecosystem. In South Korea alone, the App Store helped create more than 200,000 jobs.

While the Apple Developer Academy will be an expansion of an existing scheme from elsewhere in the world, the Manufacturing R&D Support Center will be its first such facility. It will help small and medium-sized enterprises upgrade their technologies and processes by connecting Apple experts and equipment to local firms.

Apple says the center will support cutting-edge training and assist with production using the latest smart and green technologies available.

As part of the same announcement, Apple is also providing thousands of iPads to schools and low-income families across the country, complete with ongoing support. Educational programs Everyone Can Code and Everyone Can Create will be available in korean starting from 2022, with free resources being made available to educators.

The investment into a developer academy and a manufacturing support center is part of Apple's settlement with the Fair Trade Commission, which was approved in February. The settlement ended an ongoing antitrust investigation into claims Apple was forcing local telecoms firms to pay the costs of warranty services and television advertising.

The settlement plan involved the investment of 100 billion won ($84.7 million), to support consumers and small businesses. Approximately 40 billion won was earmarked for the manufacturing support center, 25 billion on discounts for consumer iPhone repairs and warranties, and 10 billion for investment into schools and public facilities.

The Korean FTC also fined Apple in March for reportedly impeding the investigation. This included blocking internet access, refusals to submit relevant documentation, and taking steps against the 2016 raid of Apple's local offices.