Samsung Electronics has sold nearly 120,000 units of its newest smartphone Galaxy S5 in South Korea as of last week, matching the performance of the predecessor model, the S4, market watchers said Sunday.

The sales translate to roughly 10,000 units daily during the 12 business days from the March 27 launch date to Friday, they said. The S5 accounts for approximately 28 percent of the domestic smartphone market, they added.

The smartphone, the latest version in the company's flagship Galaxy series, was released in 125 countries across the globe on Friday in the biggest simultaneous world launch of Samsung's smart gadgets. Its sales are closely watched as a measuring stick on whether the South Korean tech giant can weather the slowing market and fierce competition from rivals jumping in with cheaper models. The S5 has been priced lower than its predecessor.

The new device has a built-in heart rate monitor and has a fingerprint sensor that can be used to unlock the gadget.

Market watchers say that the S5 sales numbers should take into account the ongoing marketing restrictions imposed on local mobile carriers, limiting people from creating new subscriptions or switching plans. The three carriers received business suspensions for giving out illegal subsidies to attract new clients, and they have been taking turns in closing their businesses since late March.

The home launch of the S5 had been pushed up so that the carriers could start selling the model in between the suspension periods. (Yonhap)