Sep 22, 2010 14:42 GMT  ·  By

Apple's iPhone has recently managed to pass the 1 million sold units milestone on the market in South Korea at KT Corp., the local operator that inked a distribution agreement with the Cupertino-based company for the iconic device.

The milestone was reached nine months after the handset became available for purchase in the country, which is pretty impressive for the South Korean market, though slower than other smartphones on shelves in the country.

According to the phone's local distributor, it managed to activate a number of 1.02 million iPhones as of August 16, nine months after the handset made an official appearance on the local market.

KT, the second largest wireless carrier in South Korea, has brought the new iPhone 4 model to the South Korean market too, and announced a number of 350,000 advanced orders for the device.

According to the carrier, the sales of iPhone should top 1.2 million by early October, though it's uncertain whether it was referring here only to the older iPhone 3GS model, or the new device was included too in the sum.

The company also stated that the popularity Apple's iconic device enjoys on the market in South Korea comes from strong, widespread cellular and wireless-fidelity (WiFi) networks, in addition to the wide range of applications available from the App Store.

As stated above, the sales of iPhone 3GS seem a little less impressive when compared to other handsets on the South Korean market, such as the Samsung Galaxy S, which sold the millionth unit in about two months after being initially launched in the country.

The new iPhone 4 should help sales grow even more, as it is only the second iPhone model launched in the country, following the introduction of iPhone 3GS in south Korea in November last year.

However, it should be noted that the mobile landscape in South Korea changed following the launch of iPhone, and that more smartphones are now available in the country.