Smartphone users exceed 30 million in S. Korea

More than 60 percent of South Koreans now have smartphones despite their belated debut in the country, according to the latest industry figures.

Data from three mobile providers quoted by Yonhap news agency showed the number reached 30.03 million on Monday, out of a total of 52.55 million mobile phone users.

The tech-savvy nation has more mobile phones than people. The population hit 50 million in June.

South Koreans fell in love with smartphones relatively late compared to some other countries. Regulators approved Apple's iPhone only in September 2009 because of privacy concerns about some of its features.

Since then the use of smartphones has been growing at a brisk pace, with free wireless networks and cutting-edge gadgets widely available.

South Korea is one of the world's most wired societies, with 95 percent of homes using broadband Internet. It also has the world's top Internet download speeds, according to a study by Pando Networks.

(c) 2012 AFP