(CES 2020) Samsung sells at least 400,000 Galaxy Fold smartphones in 2019: exec

By Joo Kyung-don

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co., sold at least 400,000 Galaxy Fold smartphones last year, the company's mobile business chief said Tuesday, denying earlier media reports that it sold one million foldable handsets.

"I think we've sold 400,000 to 500,000 Galaxy Fold smartphones," Koh Dong-jin, President and CEO of Samsung's IT & Mobile Communication division, told reporters at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020 in Las Vegas.

Koh's comment confirms Samsung's earlier answer refuting media reports that the company sold 1 million Galaxy Folds in 2019.

In December, Sohn Young-kwon, a Samsung executive who leads Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center, said at a conference that the company sold 1 million Galaxy Folds, but the company later denied the sales figure, saying Sohn may confused the number with the company's initial sales target for 2019.

The Galaxy Fold, which has a 7.3-inch screen that users can fold horizontally like a book, officially went on sale in September with a price tag of around US$2,000.

Meanwhile, Koh said he will introduce Samsung's new "clamshell" foldable smartphone during CES 2020, which runs through Friday.

On the opening day of the world's largest tech expo, Koh was spotted explaining Samsung products to chiefs of South Korean mobile carriers -- SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho and LG Uplus CEO Ha Hyun-hwoi.

Samsung's new foldable smartphone is scheduled to be unveiled next month. The new smartphone is expected to boast a 6.7-inch display and becomes nearly square when folded.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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