You may not be aware, many of the countries that trade with western countries do not provide easy access on a reciprocal basis. It is not that Apple is holding back. In India a population of 1.2 billion, Apple is yet to get permission to open an Apple owned store. The Indian government has put burdensome conditions such as manufacture iPhones in India to be able to sell in India. Yet, with the power shortages and poor labor productivity, manufacturing iPhones in India will cost Apple at least 30% more than what it takes to manufacture in China.
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Apple's 500th Store and First in Korea Opening January 27 Ahead of 2018 Winter Olympics
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Ah, but the comparison with India is misleading in this case. Apple had no regulatory issues in opening a retail store in Korea all this time. All Apple had to do was to pick a spot, sign a lease agreement, and build a store like any other company. However, it had been reported that Apple was too picky about choosing that spot for so long, according to this Digital Times article from 2014 (in Korean):
http://www.dt.co.kr/contents.html?article_no=2014102602109931759001
Since then the rumours had come and go a few times, until it was found out in September 2016 that the current spot had the lease agreement signed back in February 2016. Ultimately, Apple Korea confirmed the building of the new retail store in January 2017. Originally it was thought to open in November 2017, but Apple was reportedly quite stringent in the process, leading to delays.
So it was almost entirely Apple's own decisions that led to the first retail store of its own in Korea opening more than 8 years after iPhones were officially introduced in the country.
They might.
One thing I learned about the Olympics (after the 2010 games here in Vancouver) is how super-anal they are about protecting their brand. They go after anyone who might be trying to take advantage of the Olympics and using anything in marketing that’s too close to anything official (like the rings or even the word Olympic). This is probably why Apple did the country bands and not any actual “Olympic” bands.
Only sponsors are allowed to sell merchandise related to the Olympics. Samsung is, of course, a sponsor so they’ll definitely be selling Olympic versions of their phones for sure. Apple isn’t on the sponsor list so they’ll be very limited in how they can promote.
There were laws specifically discouraging import of foreign cellphones into the country. One was mandating the installation WIPI platform onto the phone, and the second was requiring schematics and hefty testing costs to import cellphones even personally. The first one was originally made in good faith, to foster interoperability of phone apps across different carriers, but it also inhibited import of foreign phones, effectively acting as a trade barrier. It was withdrawn in early 2009, mere months before the introduction of iPhones in Korea. The latter was also relaxed around the similar timeframe. Whether the whole thing was willful play is up for debate, but that the government deterred Apple's entry into Korean cellphone market is without doubt.
hate to nitpick, but yes, the policy was enacted in 2005 and withdrawn in late 2008 (with 3 month grace period), or almost a full decade ago, just a year after Apple got into the mobile business and when their global iPhone sales barely numbered in just a few million units. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2012/04/133_35873.html.
Secondly, are you saying that KFCC's requirements were unusual and more onerous than the one required by US FCC which still requires rigorous testings of various radio, safety (SAR), HAC components, in addition to "schematics" and other confidential trade-secrets, to this date?
Even if we assume both specious premises to be true, you clearly indicate that those barriers were eliminated/relaxed before Apple iPhone was introduced there -- when Apple had limited availability of iPhones in just a small number of countries (and even in the US, only AT&T carried it) and, again, its sales totaled in just a few millions. So how does that amount to the Korean gov't deterring Apple's entry into the market? that without doubt? Something doesn't add up...
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To be clear, I don't think they were put up to target Apple specifically, but the regulations had to be amended in order for cellphones not targeted specifically for Korean market to enter and I'm stating that it had a role in delaying iPhone's availability in Korea. WIPI's role as a barrier has been noted in news articles like the one you linked. The early 2009 timeframe I mentioned referred to the point when it was completely withdrawn, after the grace period. There's nothing to nitpick about it. We're on the same page with this.
The second point was more about the personal-level importing of the iPhones and other foreign phones, so I concede that it may not have had a major role in deterring official introduction, but it certainly prevented people from using it even unofficially.
The thing is, does US FCC prevent you from importing a cellphone (one unit, personal use) not officially available in the US unless you submit full device details and go through full suite of testing? That is not the case, as far as I know. Those things are generally waivered for such cases. Back then, users were forced to go through full testing for cellphones in order for it to be used with a Korean carrier, even if it's just one unit you brought in for personal use. Doesn't that sound ridiculous? Because it was. The absurdity is only enforced by the fact that this rule didn't apply to foreigners bringing their cellphones during their visits to Korea and using them on a local carrier in roaming mode. It's not like using a phone in roaming mode is magically different electromagnetically.
The regulations being relaxed near the official introduction of iPhones in Korea wasn't a coincidence. With the release of iPhone and subsequently, Android phones, many Korean people were eager to try them, but the aforementioned regulations prevented official (WIPI) or unofficial (testing mandate) importation. People complained and voiced their dissatisfaction to the government, and pressured for the changes. This was pretty well noted in the article you linked.
You keep mentioning that there were only "a few million" in sales, but back then the comparison was made with other smartphones and so-called PDA phones, which had a smaller market. Once iPhone did launch in Korea, it immediately overtook Samsung's WM-based smartphones in sales (this happened in the first month with one hundred thousand units, and this was considered massive back then) and iPhone dominated the Korean smartphone market until Samsung got their act together eventually and countered with the Galaxy S.
This shows there were a lot of demand that was unfulfilled due to the regulations that delayed the introduction. iPhone sales in Korea reached 1 million in 10 months of its initial release. Smartphones sold in Korea amounted in the order of tens of thousands to low hundred thousands in the years before. If anything, it confirmed the fear that the lack of those barriers could let foreign companies bulldoze into the Korean market.
Let's check the article you linked:
In other words, iPhones would not have been eligible for release in the Korean market unless the regulations were relaxed. It even says "dreadful wait" right there. If that's not "the Korean gov't deterring Apple's entry into the market", what is?
Sure, in the same article, do you not see that SK was already selling HTC phones, a leading foreign smartphone maker, in Dec, 2008?
As for your second point, yes, it's illegal to carry a RF device not yet approved by FCC here in the US, even for personal use. While FCC isn't going to send a SWAT team to hunt you down for personal illegal import, there are plenty of protectionists reasons why there aren't more Chinese smartphones here.
And lastly, yes, Apple's iPhone sales numbered in 20+M in 2009 and South Korea's 1+M in the first 10 months accounts for about 5% of global unit sales. That's just two years after Apple introduced the phone to the world and also when Apple had limited supplies. This is clearly not something you are likely to see in a closed-market with unreasonable artificial regulatory barriers.
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Those HTC phones had this WIPI module crafted for Windows Mobile that worked barely enough to pass compliance. It's about the only foreign manufacturer to attempt this, so it stands out as an exception, not a rule. I had one of such phones. You'll note that the same paragraph mentioning both Blackberry and Nokia had not properly entered the market at the time.
As for non-certified devices, FCC does offer exceptions to the rule, as this page lists.
https://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/importation
And indeed, once the "closed-market with unreasonable artificial regulatory barriers" went away in 2009, iPhone got introduced and sales took off. But before that, no availability.