Samsung smart phones sold in Korea are more expensive than elsewhere

By TeamVR on October 9, 2012 7:50 am

It looks like Samsung smartphones are more expensive in Korea than anywhere else, even taking into account differences in factory prices.

Congressman Jeon Byeong Hyeon has claimed that Samsung Electronics smart phones are being sold at a higher price in Korea than overseas. According to Hyeon, who sits on the National Assembly's Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, Samsung smart phones are on average 2.5 percent more expensive in Korea than overseas.

He also says that the average Samsung smartphone sells overseas for around 300,000 won, but in Korea they are sold for an average of almost 800,000 won. Adding to the uneven prices is the fact that the factory price of a smartphone made in Korea is 2.5 times higher than the same one made in China.

(Galaxy Note)

There's an even more drastic difference in prices when one looks at all Samsung Electronics phones over the last two years. All the mobile phones sold by Samsung through Korea’s three carriers had an average price of around 700,000 won; however, the overseas average price was just 165,000 won. Thus, the price of a Samsung phone in Korea is about 4 times higher than overseas.

Hyeon claims that even accounting for different factory prices and some low cost phones that are available in some places, reverse discrimination still exists for Korean users. Any discrimination against Korean users must be decreased, he says.