By Kim Tong-hyungStaff Reporter
Korean tech geeks and fashionistas are grateful that KT ended its agonizing delay of the iPhone ― Apple's do-it-all smartphone that is the world's most sought after gadget at the moment. But now, it's the expatriates that are complaining about being left out of the party.
iPhones are flying off local shelves, with KT, the country's No. 2 mobile operator, managing to sell more than 200,000 just a month after its release in late November. However, it's apparent that not many of the iPhones sold are owned by foreigners employed here.
According to KT, foreign nationals with F-2, F-4 or F-5 visas, which are issued to individuals with Korean ``blood'' heritage, married to a Korean national or granted permanent residential status, are able to sign two-year contracts for the iPhone, just like Koreans do.
However, foreigners with other types of visas can only get the iPhone on 1-year contracts, and are pressed financially, as they will have to buy the phone upfront and not in monthly installments.
KT claims that the restrictions are inevitable, saying that foreign mobile users who leave without paying their bills are continuing to be a problem for local mobile carriers. However, foreign nationals here wonder whether the company can do more to make it easier for them to buy and register phones.
``The policy on foreigners registering for our mobile services is the same for iPhone as it is with any other handset. But the popularity of the iPhone has allowed the problems to surface,'' said a KT spokesman.
``Honestly, it can't be said that foreigners are experiencing more problems registering for phones here than Koreans are when they are overseas ― imagine what is required for a Korean mobile user to register for AT&T's mobile network. The foreigners are our clients, and we are considering more ways to make it more convenient for them to use our services, but there is not so much we can do when the current policies don't give us much freedom.''
Although KT officials declined to give out any specific numbers, other industry sources in previous years estimated that around 20 percent of foreign mobile users left the country without paying their final bills.
KT states that it can't expand the 2-year contracts to a larger number of foreigners unless Seoul Guarantee Insurance, the insurance guarantor that approves the contracts, supports it.
``You really can't ask a mobile operator to take that much of a risk,'' said the KT spokesman.
SK Telecom, the country's biggest mobile operator, has found a solution by requiring deposits from foreigners signing up for mobile plans to guard against the possibility of them leaving the country without paying their bills.
However, the company may be operating in a legal grey area, as the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), the country's converged regulator for broadcasting and telecommunications, doesn't acknowledge deposit policies in mobile contracts.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
