Smartphone Recall

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Samsung Electronics began replacing defective Galaxy Note 7s with new ones on Monday. It remains to be seen whether this massive voluntary recall can help Korea's smartphone giant regain consumer trust.

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Mobile phone stores were packed even in the morning with customers trying to replace their Galaxy Note 7s with new ones. Some stores experienced difficulties as they received more demands for smartphone replacements than projected.

[Soundbite] Employee of Mobile Communication Store : "These smartphones have been reserved for replacement. There's nothing we can do since all the devices have been taken."

However, only about a thousand refund requests have been made, accounting for a mere 0.2% of the phones recalled, indicating that consumers' trust in Samsung smartphones remains strong.

[Soundbite] Lim Ji-tae(Consumer) : "There seems to be no defect except for the battery. I trust Samsung."

The new smartphones use Chinese-made batteries instead of the Samsung SDI ones which have led to explosions. The replacement batteries differ from the defective ones in that the battery condition is displayed on the initial screen and a separate marking is featured on the case.

[Soundbite] Kim Seon-woo(Senior Research Fellow, Meritz Securities) : "It won't be hard to regain consumer trust, given Samsung's brand value and its production and performance records."

Samsung plans to run all of its production lines in order to resume sales of new smartphones to first-time consumers starting on the 28th. Attention is now gathering on how the revamped Galaxy Note 7 will compete against Apple's iPhone 7, which has been enjoying brisk sales since its launch last week.