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The sources available do not substantiate a $45 million fine against Samsung over Galaxy Game Optimizing Service (GOS). The main Korean case was a consumer damages lawsuit focused on Galaxy S22 devices: a court found that some advertising could mislead consumers about game performance, but rejected damages because the plaintiffs had not sufficiently proved loss or that the advertising caused it.

Is Samsung facing a $45 million fine?

No such fine is established in the available court record or reporting. The Seoul Central District Court’s July 17, 2025 case summary describes consumers’ claims for damages, not a regulatory penalty or a $45 million fine. The case summary is available from the Seoul Central District Court.

A damages lawsuit and a fine are different. The former seeks compensation for plaintiffs; a fine is a penalty imposed by an authority. Neither the court summary nor the cited case-status coverage reports a $45 million fine, a fine in another currency, or a damages award of that amount.

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What the Korean court said about GOS

Two policies with different effects

The court summary distinguishes GOS’s general policy from its specific policy. The general policy adjusts the phone for the gaming environment without setting a CPU or GPU clock ceiling. The specific policy applies to certain high-spec games and sets CPU and GPU clock ceilings to help control device temperature.

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For at least some smartphones, the specific policy could make a game run below the frame rate originally targeted by its developer. The court identified a risk that some advertising could lead consumers to believe they would get the fastest performance without those limits. That finding concerns the potential to mislead; it does not establish that every Galaxy device or game was affected in the same way.

Why the plaintiffs did not win damages

The court rejected the damages claim because the evidence did not sufficiently establish that the plaintiffs suffered a loss or that any loss was caused by the advertising. The summary also says the asserted general disclosure duty lacked a sufficient basis. A finding of potential risk in some advertising therefore did not translate into a finding that the plaintiffs were owed damages.

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Which Galaxy phones and lawsuits are covered?

The strongest court evidence concerns the Korean consumer case involving Galaxy S22 users. The court summary does not establish the same finding for every Galaxy S21 or S22 model. A U.S. complaint filed in 2022 included allegations involving Samsung devices, but allegations in a complaint are claims by a party, not court findings: Holland et al. v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc. et al.

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Yonhap News Agency reported in June 2025 that more than 1,800 consumers were involved in the Korean damages lawsuit and that the first-instance court ruled against the plaintiffs on damages. That count describes plaintiffs, not people receiving compensation or a fine: Yonhap’s report.

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What happened to the cases afterward?

Seoul Economic Daily reported on September 16, 2026, that eight GOS-related consumer suits in South Korea, the United States and Israel had concluded without damages. It reported that Korean plaintiffs withdrew after mediation and that Israeli plaintiffs withdrew with court approval. The report does not provide the underlying mediation instrument or exact terms, so those procedural details should be understood as the outlet’s account, not as terms independently established here: Seoul Economic Daily’s case-status report.

The reported conclusion of those suits without damages does not establish a fine. It also does not expand the Korean court’s S22 findings into a ruling about all S21 and S22 models.

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