SEOUL -(Dow Jones)- Samsung Electronics Co. (005930.SE) said Thursday that it will roll out its Galaxy Tab tablet computer in South Korea through SK Telecom Co. (017670.SE), the country's largest mobile phone carrier by subscribers, in an attempt to grab a big chunk of the local tablet market before the entry of Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad. SK Telecom, which first offered Samsung's smartphone, Galaxy S, on the domestic market in late June, will initially have the exclusive right to sell the Galaxy Tab. Galaxy Tab, which runs on Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system, has a 7-inch touchscreen display and also comes with a cellular connection. The tablet computer had initially made its debut in Italy last month, making its way to other European and Asian markets afterwards. KT Corp., SK Telecom's hometown rival, is expected to release the iPad in South Korea sometime this month. Last year, KT got the exclusive right to offer Apple's iPhone in South Korea. Despite initial concerns that Apple may have a tough time competing in a market dominated by local handset makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics Inc., sales of the iPhone have taken off. KT sold around 1.7 million iPhones by the end of September. -By Jung-Ah Lee, Dow Jones Newswires; 822-3700-1907; jung-ah.lee@dowjones.com
