The South Korean military is currently in discussions regarding a potential ban on the iPhone in all military headquarters due to concerns about sensitive information being recorded through voice recordings. This topic is being explored by the army, navy, and air force.

– The Korean Air Force issued an internal announcement on April 11th prohibiting devices that can record voices and do not allow third-party apps to control phone functions.
– The ban is set to begin on June 1st, explicitly mentioning the iPhone as prohibited.
– Smartwatches and wearable devices are also banned, while Android phones, especially those made by Samsung, are not included in the ban.
– There are discussions about extending the ban to subordinate units, potentially impacting almost 500,000 military personnel.

The reason for targeting iPhones over Android handsets like Samsung is due to iPhone models not complying with restrictions set by the National Defense Mobile Security. This security app disables smartphone capabilities like camera, Wi-Fi, microphone, USB functions, and tethering.

– Apple does not allow third-party apps to control these features except for the camera.
– The Ministry of National Defense developed the security app in 2013 but its reliability is questioned as smartphone features blocked depend on the app version used on Android phones.

In terms of call-recording features:
– iPhones do not support call recording due to U.S. legal restrictions.
– In Korea, call recording is legal except in cases infringing on privacy.
– Many users prefer Samsung Galaxy phones in Korea for their call recording feature as nearly 70% of smartphone users in South Korea use Samsung devices.