The date has not currently been set for the opening of the official Apple store.

/ Courtesy of Twitter



By Lee Han-soo

Apple will open its first official store in Seoul.

According to news reports, Apple Korea recently signed a lease for a property in Garosu-gil road for the nation's first Apple Store. The opening date is not yet known. But it is reported that the Korean unit of the U.S. tech company paid a 1.6 billion won ($1.44 million) deposit for the lease that runs to Feb. 29, 2036.

The opening of the Genius Bar in Korea has raised expectations of changes to Apple's policy and Korea being included as a first-release nation for products.

Without an Apple Store in Korea, consumers have had to turn to third-party suppliers.

But this led to complaints about delays and poor service.

In response, the Korea Fair Trade Commission told Apple in December to rectify its policy.

Apple has also started recruiting people for the new Seoul store.

The positions cover marketing, store crew and customer service.

An anonymous official said it is possible Apple might consider building more stores in Korea.

"Apple has been receiving huge criticism from Korean customers on its poor A/S support in Korea," said a mobile industry expert. "However, with Apple working towards fixing the problem, it can be viewed that Apple is starting to put an effort into the Korean market."