[Yonhap News Photo]
Samsung Electronics said Monday it was adjusting the supply of its new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, reacting to reports that the world's largest smartphone maker has suspended production again due to fires in replaced batteries.
Samsung shares posted a 1.52 percent fall Monday after Yonhap News quoted a contractor as saying the suspension included production in Vietnam in charge of overseas shipments.
Samsung is taking steps for the safety of consumers in South Korea, the United States, and China, the contractor told Yonhap, adding an investigation has been launched in cooperation with related authorities in the three countries
"Due to damage from Galaxy Note 7's recent burning, we are adjusting the quantity of supply to conduct a precise probe and strengthen quality control," Samsung said in a brief regulatory filing.
Samsung resumed smartphone sales at home almost three weeks after a global recall on September 2 due to explosions caused by defective batteries.
But there have been at least eight reported cases of fires involving Note 7 smartphones with replaced batteries, including five in the United States, one in Taiwan and one in China. Two US mobile carriers, AT&T and T-Mobile US, have stopped sales of replacements, citing safety concerns.
Samsung is to resume sales of its new Note 7 phones with replaced batteries on October 28 in Europe and India.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
