KT-SKT spat jumps onto int’l stage
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff reporter
The conflict between the nation's top two carriers ― SK Telecom and KT ― involving of Apple's 3G iPhones appears to be ongoing.
In the Seoul Digital Forum, which has drawn international figures such as Avatar director James Carmeron, Thursday, their bickering was exposed internationally.
KT went all out to support Apple, citing the ongoing technology shift to software.
In contrast, SK Telecom blasted the U.S. firm the ``unfriendliness'' of the iPhone's user interface, especially for Korean customers.
``A few months have passed since the iPhone's arrival. But the device has already made a huge impact on the nation's telecommunication sector. The iPhone has changed things and we can say that it's a mobile revolution,'' Yoo Tae-yeol, the head of the KT Economic Institute said in a speech.
But Yeom Yong-seop, a senior executive of SK Telecom Economic Institute spent much of his time pushing his company's strong partnership with Samsung Electronics, saying the Korean telecom market was different from that in the rest of the world.
``Yes, it's true that iPhone is making some impact on the telecom sector. We are seeing some drastic changes in the mobile eco-system since the phone's arrival. But SK Telecom needs an interface and mobile applications familiar to Korean customers,'' Yeom said.
``Smartphones produced by Korean manufacturers have reached a competitive level in terms of technology and internal features. Samsung's OMNIA II and Galaxy A are quite good,'' the executive added.
The latest spat followed up on the one between the leaders of the two telecom companies.
Since the iPhone's arrival in Korea late last year, relations between the carriers have rapidly deteriorated, as KT is emerging as the winner in the rapidly growing smartphone market, all thanks to the iPhone.
SK Telecom is not ready to surrender, as it bolsters its tie-ups with Samsung, the world's No. 2 handset maker.
Samsung is offering a greater selection of smartphone models to SK Telecom ― KT currently has just two models.
KT Chairman Lee Suk-chae called foul on Samsung and SK Telecom.
``Our Show OMNIA-branded smartphone is an illegitimate son who can't call his father, father,'' Lee said in a recent forum. ``They (Samsung and SK Telecom) prevented KT from advertising the OMNIA as a member of the OMNIA II family, and hamstrung it with a lack of software support and advertising.''
SK Telecom CEO Jung Man-won said the iPhone will eventually falter, here, partly due to the local carrier's big transition to Google-powered Android phones.
Asked how this spat will go, SK Telecom spokeswoman Cindy Kang and KT spokeswoman Kim Yoon-jeong declined to comment. .
Over 600,000 iPhones have been sold through April. That comes out to around 4,500 per day. Samsung's OMNIA II, which was dubbed as an ``iPhone killer,'' isn't doing nearly as well. They've sold ``only'' 500,000. The Omnia II has been out longer than the iPhone.