Sales of Apple Inc's iPhone passed 500,000 in South Korea, only four months after the iconic smartphone's launch in the country, distributor KT Corp said Thursday, according to dpa. KT said South Korea's speedy sales were a record among the 88 countries where the iPhone is available. "Even in Japan, it took seven months" to reach the half-million mark, it said. The launch of the iPhone in late November triggered a rivalry with local telecoms giants Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics. KT also says it plans to introduce new smartphones from those handset makers. Smartphone users represent a tiny fraction out the country's 45 million mobile phone users, in a population of 49 million. The boom in iPhone sales is expected to raise this percentage to 10 per cent by the end of the year.
