S. Korea's mobile accounts top 70 million in Aug. on expanded 5G users

SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's mobile subscriptions topped 70 million in August thanks to a pickup in 5G users, data showed Monday.

As of August, the country had 70 million mobile accounts, up 201,119 from the previous month, according to data from the ICT ministry. South Korea has a population of 51.8 million.

The overall figure was boosted by a jump in 5G users, which reached 8.7 million, up 801,017 over the same period and accounting for 12.4 percent of total subscriptions.

The monthly gain in 5G users marks the highest this year since a rise of 536,997 in May. South Korea first commercialized the high-speed network in April last year.

The rise in 5G accounts comes in line with the releases of new phones running on the high-speed network, including Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy Note 20 series, which launched on Aug. 21 in South Korea.

Analysts expect the country's migration to the 5G network to further pick up in the coming months with new phones, including Apple Inc.'s new iPhone and Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S20 FE.

The majority of the country's mobile subscriptions (78 percent) were still on the 4G network in August at 54.5 million, dropping 412,442 from the previous month. Users on the 3G network stood at 6.2 million, down 146,372 over the same period.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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