KT to Offer iPhone in South Korea

The iPhone is coming to South Korea this month, as carrier KT will start selling the popular device in the country, the company announced today. The South Korean mobile phone market is currently dominated by the home grown favorites Samsung and LG Electronics, with a combined 90 percent market share. South Korea is the latest Asian country to get the iPhone; last month, China Unicom started selling the iPhone in China, albeit a version without WiFi connectivity.

The iPhone 3GS 32GB and 16GB versions will be offered by KT starting Nov. 28, according to the company’s Web site. The 8GB iPhone 3G will also be offered. Apple was granted a license by South Korean regulators last week to operate location-based services in the country. The license had to be cleared by the authorities due to user privacy concerns.

KT will be selling the 32GB iPhone 3GS for 132,000 won, which is about US$114, with service contract. Apple is also reported to also be in talks with a second South Korean carrier, SK Telecom, the country’s largest phone company, for offering the iPhone. Nine out of ten South Koreans already own a mobile phone, so I wonder how much penetration in SK Apple can expect. Also, since there are not that many apps in Korean yet, maybe Apple should instead be in talks for local app developers.