South Korea's telecommunications regulatory body said Tuesday that it has received an application from Apple Inc.'s Korea unit to certify the iPad, its tablet PC, for sales here.
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) will decide next week whether to approve the iPad after reviewing its technical compatibility with local networks, the government agency said in a statement.
A spokesman for KT Corp, the local distributor of Apple's iPhone, said it hopes to release the iPad in November, once the certification process is completed. He did not specify the launch date.
The imminent local debut of the iPad comes amid Samsung Electronics Co.'s plans to launch its first tablet PC, the Galaxy Tab, before the end of this year through KT's rival SK Telecom Co.
Samsung postponed the Galaxy Tab's local launch, originally scheduled for sometime during October. The company refused to give a specific date for its future launch.