IPhone to go on sale in South Korea

SEOUL, NORTH KOREA: Apple's iPhone will go on sale in South Korea this week, offered by the country's No. 2 mobile carrier KT Corp, KT said on Sunday.

South Korea, a market for 47 million mobile users, is home turf for the world's No. 2 and 3 mobile phone makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which are stepping up efforts to catch up on smartphones.

It is also one of the world's most saturated mobile markets, where telecom carriers and application providers hope the iPhone could boost mobile data usage and help change the business model.

KT said in a statement that it would offer three iPhone models -- 16- and 32-gigabyte 3GS and older 8-gigabyte 3G model -- under basic monthly service charges ranging from 45,000 won to 95,000 won.

Depending on the set charges, the iPhone device could cost from nothing to as much as 396,000 won ($342).

South Korean telecom regulators issued Apple a licence for location-based services last week, clearing the final hurdle for iPhone's local sales.

The country's top mobile operator SK Telecom has also held talks to introduce iPhone, but it said last week no decision had been made yet.