The recovery in Samsung Electronics mobile business has suffered a blow as reports of exploding batteries forced the firm to delay shipments of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, and knocked $US7 billion ($A9.3 billion) off its market value.
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The spokeswoman said the delay affects the South Korean market only.
A company official said the delay was caused by additional quality evaluation tests.
Company officials did not reply to questions about how Samsung determined which phones are deemed safe and which require further testing. Consumers won’t be offered a refund or a brand new phone, Chosun Ilbo said, but Note 7 users will be able to visit service centers nearby and will be offered the new parts for free.
Samsung said it is investigating reports of explosions after pictures of damaged phones were uploaded on local online communities, social media and YouTube.
There were no confirmed reports of any injuries.
Last year, production problems for the curved displays for the Galaxy S6 edge model resulted in disappointing sales, and Samsung risks a repeat this year if it can not address the Galaxy Note 7 problems quickly.
Battery problems are not unusual during the early production of a new smartphone, but the latest explosion claims dented investor sentiment.
Samsung’s shares were down 3 per cent at 1.572 million won (RM572,720) as of 1:50am, compared with a 0.8 per cent drop for the broader market.
Samsung did not comment on what problem it was trying to address or whether other markets were affected besides South Korea.
Samsung Electronics sister company Samsung SDI Co Ltd said that while it was one of the suppliers of Galaxy Note 7 batteries, it had received no information to suggest that its batteries were faulty.
A decline in Samsung’s smartphone average selling prices and profits appeared inevitable given the current problems with the Galaxy Note 7, he added.
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Even before the issue of battery explosions emerged, supplies were not keeping up with higher-than-expected demand.
