South Korea lifts ban on iPad, personal imports permitted

South Korea's ban of the iPad is being lifted.

The Korea Communications Commission issued the ban earlier this month because it had not certified the iPad's wireless networking features. Under the restriction, customers would not be allowed to import the iPad for personal use. An additional concern, the Wall Street Journal notes, was that people would buy iPads in large quantity to re-sell.

Korean tech sites expressed their discontent, even exposing famous Koreans who had one. The issue came to a head when the country's minister of culture, tourism and sports, Yu In-chon, appeared at a news conference with -- you guessed it -- an iPad. The minister used the device as a prop while discussing E-Books, and did not activate its Wi-Fi capabilities.

On Tuesday, South Korea has announced that the iPad will be certified and that people and businesses wanting to import one would be allowed to do so. To prevent the creation of a black market, the Customs Service will delay shipments that contain more than five iPads at once.

Apple has not announced an official launch date for the iPad in Korea. You'll remember that South Korean customers waited two years for the iPhone to launch.

South Korea's decision comes days after Israel lifted a ban that prevented travelers from entering Israel with an iPad.

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