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LG Uplus to sell iPhones for first time

Sept. 10, 2014 - 10:43 By 정주원
LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier, will sell Apple Inc.'s latest iPhones in South Korea along with its bigger rivals SK Telecom Co. and KT Corp., industry sources said Wednesday, marking the first time for LG Uplus to distribute Apple products here.

Apple on Wednesday released the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, which are 6.9 mm and 7.1 mm thin, respectively.

While the devices are set to be available starting Sept. 19, the launch schedule for the South Korean market has yet to be unveiled.

LG Uplus had been excluded from sales of Apple products, as previous iPhones did not support the voice over long-term evolution network, which the mobile carrier is mainly focused on.

SK and KT, on the other hand, used the third-generation Universal Mobile Telecommunications System to support previous iPhones. LG only focused on the VoLTE in hopes that Apple's new product would support the latest network.

KT was the first telecommunications company to sell Apple products in the country in November 2009, with SK Telecom joining the battle by also distributing iPhones in March 2011.

SK Telecom takes up around half of South Korea's mobile market, followed by KT with 30 percent and LG Uplus with 20 percent.

Apple's iPhone lineup currently takes up less than 10 percent of the South Korean market, where Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. account for the majority. 

Apple's wearable device, dubbed the Apple Watch, will also be available for purchase starting in the first half of 2015. Like Samsung's previous wearables, the latest smartwatch showcased by Apple supports health management features such as a heartbeat monitor. (Yonhap)