Samsung denies decision on iPhone 4S suit

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday said nothing had been decided over whether to file a preliminary injunction against Apple’s iPhone 4S in South Korea, amid intensifying speculation that a sales ban is likely.

If implemented, such a ban would likely have a huge impact on the local handset market.

The Korean media early Thursday reported that Samsung had decided to try and block Apple from selling its latest iPhone amid a spreading patent battle over the two firms’ smartphones and tablet computers.

The reports cited Samsung’s mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun as saying that the company was “considering the injunction option” at a meeting with reporters in Hong Kong on Wednesday when Samsung unveiled its new Android-based smartphone Galaxy Nexus, a reference model that sports Google’s new Ice Cream Sandwich mobile operating platform.

But Samsung flatly denied the report in a bid to contain any speculation.

“Samsung has not made any formal decision over the injunction filing against Apple’s products in Korea,” said an official at Samsung.

“Shin’s comment is just a confirmation of Samsung’s existing stance that it is considering filing an injunction as it has done in other countries.”

Shin, a top executive at Samsung, sounded ready for a fight when asked about the ongoing battle with Apple: “We can’t keep losing. It seems to be only the beginning and it does not look like it’s going to end anytime soon.”

Samsung has so far sought a ban on Apple’s iPhone 4 in France, Italy, Australia and Japan. The country’s biggest mobile handset maker, however, is cautious in dealing with Apple’s latest smartphone model in the domestic market because it could backfire due to the solid base of iPhone customers in Korea.

Although Korea is the world’s second-biggest iPhone app market in terms of download volume after the U.S., Apple removed Korea from the list of countries where iPhone 4S would be released within this year.

With Korea’s iPhone consumers deeply disappointed with Apple’s decision, Samsung’s injunction move could prompt a strong protest from local users, particularly those with iPhone 3GS who want to replace their phones as their two-year contract is set to expire in a month or two.

Samsung, which provides its Galaxy smartphone and tablet computers to SK Telecom and KT, is said to be weighing the impact a sales ban of iPhone 4S would have on the two mobile carriers. SK Telecom and KT combined have signed up a total of 3.7 million iPhone subscribers here, accounting for 7.25 percent of the country’s 51 million mobile phone users in total.

By Yang Sung-jin (insight@heraldcorp.com)