South Korea concerns about US veto against ITC ruling in favor of Apple

South Korea's trade ministry expressed concerns Monday about the U.S. government's veto against its independent trade agency's ruling that Apple should be banned from selling certain products for violating Samsung Electronics' patents. In a June 4 ruling, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) prohibited Apple from selling some models such as iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G and iPad 2 3G that infringed on some Samsung patents. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) overturned the ruling on Saturday, citing the infringed patent as standard-essential patents. The reversal apparently came to back the U.S.-based Apple in its patent dispute with Samsung, the South Korean tech behemoth "Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy expresses concerns over the possible negative effect the USTR's decision will have on the protection of patents held by Samsung Electronics," the South Korean Trade Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said it will closely monitor the upcoming ruling by the U.S. ITC slated for Friday about Apple's patent dispute with Samsung and the ensuing decision by the U.S. administration, noting that it hoped the decision will be made fairly and reasonably. Meanwhile, Samsung said via e-mail that "we are disappointed that the USTR has decided to set aside the exclusion order issued by the U.S. ITC."