South Korea’s ICT ministry did not award a fourth mobile licence to any of the three firms submitting applications because they lacked qualifications.

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) said all three companies failed to meet the minimum requirements, Yonhap news agency reported. K Mobile, Sejong Telecom and Quantum Mobile passed an initial government assessment in November, and a MSIP committee was assigned to assess the companies’ service, financial and technology capabilities.

The ministry said the firms needed a score of at least 70. Quantum Mobile was rated 65.95, Sejong Mobile had a score of 61.99 and K Mobile had a 59.64 rating.

“All three firms lacked credibility and viability of their fund-raising plans, and they also lacked detailed plans on ways to establish networks and provide services,” the ministry said.

MSIP said in May it would introduce measures to pave the way for a fourth operator. The ministry has long discussed the need for an additional operator to bring more competition to the market, which is dominated by three operators — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus. In August it started accepting applications.

The government introduced the plan to add another mobile player in 2010, but none of the firms applying for the licence in six bids have met the requirements.

Sejong Telecom is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). K Mobile was set up by executives who left Korea Mobile Internet, which failed to win a licence after six attempts but didn’t participate in this round. Quantum Mobile is held by a consortium, including Solid Inc, which took over South Korea’s smartphone maker Pantech.

SK Telecom has a 49 per cent share of the country’s mobile connections, while KT has a 32 per cent share and LG Uplus has a 19 per cent share, according to GSMA Intelligence.