[THE INVESTOR]  South Korean consumers who already bought the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones are expected to prefer to replace their Note 7 devices with new ones rather than receive complete refunds, industry officials said on Sept. 6.

Samsung Electronics announced a global recall of the Note 7 smartphones on Sept. 2 after some of their batteries caught fire while being charged. Mobile carriers in South Korea are also offering full refunds for the Note 7.

The refund program will be available until Sept. 19, but the replacement program is expected to last until March next year. 



Even if the Note 7 owners contact a Samsung service center and find that their batteries are safe, they are likely to choose the replacement program because they simply want to use new Note 7 smartphones, said the officials.

Mobile carriers began their refund programs Sept. 3, but the number of Note 7 owners who applied for refunds was small, according to industry statistics.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)