Last month, Samsung announced the new Galaxy S7 edge Olympic Games Limited Edition and made the smartphone available for purchase to the general public. As the Official Smartphone Partner for the Summer Olympics, the company handed out 12,500 Rio-branded editions of its Galaxy S7 Edge handset.
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According to both Samsung and the Rio Olympics Committee, one of the top managers for the North Korean team took the 31 smartphones, and then failed to deliver them to his athletes. A North Korean official reportedly went to the Samsung office and collected all of the phones that were to be provided to the country’s athletes.
One country, however, has refused the gift. Apparently the North Korean Olympic Committee decided the athletes shouldn’t receive the phones because they might provide access to, you know, the outside world or something.
When asked whether she had received her Galaxy S7 edge, one athlete simply shook her head in silence. This makes it hard for North Korea to take any gifts that come from companies belonging to South Korea.
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North Korea began appearing at Olympic Games in 1972, but has enforced strict rules for its athletes, which includes not interacting with others or visiting places of interest. What is more, sources who pleaded to remain anonymous say that North Korea regularly confiscates gifts from their Olympic athletes, regardless of their origin. The Washington Post reports that athletes from North Korea are discouraged from interacting with their peers and can not visit places of interest.
