South Korea said on Friday it was considering an instalment payment of third-generation (3G) mobile licence fees for the third and last 3G operator to be selected by the end of June.

The Information and Communication Ministry said in a statement... after talks with the ruling party, they are going to allow the 3G operator to pay its licence fees in instalments and with no interest charged if the bidders want.

Local media earlier in the day quoted Minister Yang Seung-taik as saying the government might allow the 3G operator to pay the fees over 15 years.

The government awarded in December two 3G licences based on W-CDMA technology, which is being promoted by European mobile firms, to consortia led by state-run Korea Telecom and SK Telecom, Korea's largest mobile carrier.

It plans to award one more 3G licence using Qualcomm's cdma2000 technology, on which most Korean telecom equipment makers rely for production of mobile phones and equipment, preferably in the first half of this year.