Korea and Japan are trading claims over the average prices of mobile phone plans, with a Seoul-based telecom operators’ association challenging a recent Japanese government report that ranked Seoul as the most expensive cities for mobile services. The Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA) recently issued a statement arguing that the Japanese government’s international comparison of mobile service rates “undermined its objectivity and credibility” by adopting comparison criteria “favorable to Japan and arbitrarily selecting mobile plans for comparison.” “If the data were compared again using the same criteria, Korea’s mobile service rates would rank third or fourth among the six countries,” the statement read. “(Japan) should refrain from drawing conclusions about Korea’s mobile service rates based on international comparisons using arbitrary analysis.” Korea’s three major mobile carriers — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus — are members of the KTOA. Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released a report on June 30 comparing mobile