South Korea's brief blockade of the iPad is coming down.

The country's communications regulator on Tuesday said it wouldn't stop people from importing Apple Inc.'s iPad for personal use, ending a ban that early adopters in this tech-savvy country dubbed unfair. Some Korean tech Web sites had even started to publiclyexpose famous Koreans who had the gadget in apparentviolation of the ban.

The issue came to a head Monday when the minister of culture, tourism and sports, apparently unaware of the rules laid down by the Korea Communications Commission earlier this month, used an iPad as a prop at a news conference to announce a $50 million fund to support electronic-book publishing.

Technically, the minister, Yu In-chon, didn't violate the commission's ban, which was in place because it hadn't certified the iPad's wireless networking features, and he didn't use that capability in his presentation.

But the noise was enough for the commission to announce Tuesday that it would soon certify the iPad and that people who are using it for individual purposes -- and companies that are using it for research and development of products for it -- don't need to worry.

The commission did say that Customs rules still apply. Part of the reason the commission became vocal about the iPad earlier in the month is that some entrepreneurs were trying to import large quantities and sell them in South Korea. The country's Customs Service is holding up shipments that contain more than five iPads at once.

Apple hasn't announced when it will offer the iPad in South Korea. The country isn't on the list of first international destinations for the product -- and Apple has said that even those countries won't get the gadget as soon as expected because of high demand in the U.S.

Among techies in South Korea, the iPad flap is a raw reminder of the way regulators kept out Apple's iPhone for more than two years after its introduction in the U.S. and much of the rest of the world.

The iPhone arrived in Korea last November, two months after regulators approved it. But the device has proven to be popular, selling more than 500,000 units since then.

The iPhone's delay was rooted in a rule imposed by the commission's forerunner that made it harder for foreign manufacturers to enter the market. South Korea is home to two of world's three largest cellphone manufacturers, Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Co.

South Korea's decision to allow the iPad comes days after Israel made a similar flip-flop, lifting a ban that prevented travelers from entering Israel with Apple's device.

Evan Ramstad

• expose [ik´spəuz] vt.揭露，暴露；陈列 (初中英语单词)
• apparent [ə´pærənt] a.显然的；表面上的 (初中英语单词)
• minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中英语单词)
• culture [´kʌltʃə] n.修养；文化；饲养 (初中英语单词)
• conference [´kɔnfərəns] n.讨论(会)；会谈 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• import [im´pɔ:t, ´impɔ:t] vt.&n.进口；输入 (初中英语单词)
• contain [kən´tein] v.包含；容纳；抑制 (初中英语单词)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl] a.国际的，世界的 (初中英语单词)
• introduction [,intrə´dʌkʃən] n.介绍；引言；引导 (初中英语单词)
• device [di´vais] n.装置；器具；策略 (初中英语单词)
• ending [´endiŋ] n.结尾，结局 (高中英语单词)
• apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)
• commission [kə´miʃən] n.委任(状) vt.委任 (高中英语单词)
• israel [´izreiəl] n.以色列 (高中英语单词)
• blockade [blɔ´keid] n.&vt.封锁(城镇等) (英语四级单词)
• unfair [ʌn´feə] a.不公平的；不正直的 (英语四级单词)
• violation [,vaiə´leiʃən] n.破坏；冒犯；侵害 (英语四级单词)
• unaware [,ʌnə´weə] a.不知道的；不觉察的 (英语四级单词)
• violate [´vaiəleit] vt.违背；冒犯；侵害 (英语四级单词)
• trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
• publicly [´pʌblikli] ad.公然；公众所有地 (英语六级单词)
• holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
• reminder [ri´maində] n.提醒物；纪念品；暗示 (英语六级单词)