Large Numbers of South Koreans Own More Than 4 Mobile Phones Each

Around 47,000 South Koreans own more than four mobile phones each, according to a new government report cited by The Korea Times. According to legislator, Kim Tae-hwan, 0.1 percent of the country's population have a total of 647,000 mobile phones by three separate mobile carriers - an average of 14 handsets per person. Most multiple ownerships are legitimate business use, but the report claims that a sizeable percentage are used by criminals who provided fake ID's when buying the handsets.

According to an earlier report from the Office of the Prime Minister, 60,743 cases of fake registrations were reported to the police in the year to August.

SK Telecom, which is reported to have 29,000 people using more than four phones numbers, said that it charges a deposit of 200,000 won (US$220) per handset after a person buys their 11th subscription. KTF said that it verifies the credit rating of multiple phone users.

Meanwhile, the report also showed that foreigners are barred from owning more than two phones while Korean nationals are free from such a limitation. However, SK Telecom will permit selected "superior" customers such as US military officers, diplomats or corporate employees to have two phones where necessary.

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