Korea on Thursday vowed to request Apple Inc. to use the Korean name only to describe the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its new English-language map service for the iPhone, labeling the U.S. technology giant's new naming policy as "very regrettable."
Apple recently notified the Korean government that its new English map service under the iOS 6 mobile operating software simultaneously uses Korean and Japanese name, along with a Franco-English name, the Liancourt Rocks, to describe Dokdo, which is also claimed by Japan.
In previous versions of the English map service, the Korean name of Dokdo was used to describe the islets, which lie closer to South Korea in the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
"At first, the new naming policy by Apple is deemed very regrettable," foreign ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young said, when asked about the change of reference for Dokdo in Apple Maps.
"As we made it clear that we cannot accept the Apple policy, we will continue reiterating our stance and requesting Apple to accept our demand," Cho said.
While the English map service labels Dokdo as the three names, Apple's Korean-language map service retains the Korean name of Dokdo, while its Japanese-language service uses the Japanese name for Dokdo, according to ministry officials.
Public relations officials at Apple's Korean unit were not immediately available to comment.
On Wednesday, ministry officials said they protested to Apple over the change of reference for Dokdo, which has long been a thorn in relations between Korea and Japan. Korea keeps a small police detachment on the islets, effectively controlling them.
The move by Apple comes less than a week after South Korea demanded Google Inc. restore the name of Dokdo on its English-language Web mapping service, Google Maps.
Google recently updated Google Maps and replaced the name of Dokdo with the Franco-English name, the Liancourt Rocks, while removing the Korean address of Dokdo. Its Korean-language service, however, retains both the Korean name and address of Dokdo.