April 17, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics has been keeping the price of the Galaxy S8 and S9 smartphones high in Korea in contrast to discounts offered in overseas markets, data showed on Sept. 4.

According to the data compiled by the Korea Communications Commission, the price of the 64 gigabyte edition of the Galaxy S9 sold through SK Telecom stood at 957,000 won (US$859) in August. 

The figure remained unchanged since the commission started compiling prices of smartphones in April.

In Germany, the price fell to 685 euros (US$795) in July from 829 euros in April. Numbers for China also came to 5,499 Chinese yuan (US$806) in June, down from 5,799 Chinese yuan a month earlier.

The price of the 64 GB Galaxy S8 also remained unchanged since reaching 799,700 won in April. The price of the device fell from 605.69 euros to 485.69 euros in the Netherlands from May to August. In Germany, it was sold for 601 euros in July.

Industry watchers said Korean tech firms tend to be reluctant to cut prices of older versions of smartphones at home on the back of their solid market shares, which give them less incentive to provide discounts compared with foreign markets.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)