Seoul- Beginning next month, South Koreans will be able to watch free TV programs on mobile handsets.

The Ministry of Information and Communication said it gave licenses to KBS and MBC, the country's two top TV broadcasters, to start nationwide mobile broadcasting called terrestrial DMB.

"KBS plans to expand the service areas to the whole country next month and MBC is poised to follow up in August," Lee Ki-joo, a director general at the ministry, told the Korea Times.

"Then, terrestrial DMB services will cover about 75% of the territory, or almost all residential areas. This will give a momentum to the struggling video-on-the-go services," Lee said.