Preferred Contract and Self-Payment Are Advantageous
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] As the Galaxy S23 began pre-order sales on the 7th, the three major telecom companies announced that they would provide official subsidies of up to 240,000 KRW.
The highest official subsidy is offered by KT, providing support ranging from 50,000 to 240,000 KRW depending on the plan. SK Telecom offers 100,000 to 230,000 KRW, and LG Uplus provides around 52,000 to 230,000 KRW.
Additionally, if extra subsidies of up to 15% of the official subsidy are provided through distribution channels, customers can receive a discount of up to 276,000 KRW.
The Galaxy S23 starts at 1,155,000 KRW for the base model, 1,353,000 KRW for the Plus, and 1,599,400 KRW for the Ultra. When receiving the maximum official subsidy, the base model can be purchased for 879,000 KRW, the Plus for 1,077,000 KRW, and the Ultra for 1,323,400 KRW.
As the scale of official subsidies decreases, analyses suggest that choosing the selective contract option, which offers a 25% monthly discount on fees instead of official subsidies, or purchasing an unlocked model may be more advantageous.
However, these are preliminary official subsidies and may change on the actual release date. Samsung Electronics will begin activation for pre-order customers on the 14th and officially launch the Galaxy S23 series on the 17th.
This Galaxy S23 series has significantly reduced official subsidies compared to its predecessor. When the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 4 were released in August last year, SKT provided 280,000 to 520,000 KRW, KT 156,000 to 650,000 KRW, and LG Uplus 175,000 to 500,000 KRW depending on the plan.
The scale is similar to the Galaxy S22 series released in February last year. The maximum official subsidy at the time of the Galaxy S22 launch was 240,000 KRW. However, the launch price was about 150,000 KRW cheaper than the S23, making the purchase burden lighter.
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