Samsung Electronics Co. plans to release its 5G smartphones in more than 40 countries this year, a company official Wednesday, as the South Korean tech giant seeks to further expand its global presence amid the rise of the next-generation mobile service.

Samsung's 5G smartphones were sold in 22 countries last year, but the number of countries that the world's largest smartphone maker will sell its 5G mobile devices may double this year as many mobile carriers around the globe prepare to start 5G services.

"In 2019, we captured the majority of the 5G device market share with over 6.7 million 5G-enabled smartphones shipped," Lee June-hee, head of technology strategy team at Samsung, said in his recent editorial posted on the company's website. "In 2020, we will make 5G even more accessible as we bring Galaxy 5G-ready devices to twice as many countries."

The world's largest smartphone vendor launched 5G variants of the Galaxy S10, the Galaxy Note 10, the Galaxy Fold and the Galaxy A90 last year.

For this year, Samsung hopes its new flagship smartphone line can lead its sales of 5G mobile devices. All three models of Samsung's Galaxy S20 series -- the S20, the S20 Plus and the S20 Ultra -- launched this month support 5G.

"We want 2020 to be the year that every consumer experiences the benefits of 5G connectivity, starting with the Galaxy S20 series," Lee said.

However, an official at Samsung said the company's 5G smartphone release plan will ultimately depend on the 5G commercialization schedule of each country. 

"We believe some 40 countries will offer 5G services this year but depending on their commercialization schedule, our 5G smartphone release plan could be changed," the Samsung official said. (Yonhap)