2nd LD: Samsung decides on sales halt, recall of Galaxy Note 7 worldwide on faulty battery

Samsung Electronics decided on Friday to halt sales of and recall all of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold worldwide as some of the gadgets have faulty battery.

Koh Dong-jin, head of Samsung's mobile division, told reporters that a total of 35 complaints had been filed with its service centers at home and abroad for the Galaxy Note 7's battery problem as of Thursday.

The president said 24 gadgets per 1 million have been confirmed defective after its own investigation due to the problem with battery cells, pledging to recall all of Note 7 phones sold globally.

The newest Samsung smartphone was released just two weeks ago. More than 1 million phones have reportedly been sold in 10 countries, including South Korea and the United States. Including inventory and the phones delivered to mobile carriers, Note 7 shipments totaled about 2.5 million units.

Koh apologized for the faulty battery, saying Samsung will suspend global sales of the phones. Consumers who already bought the phones can get a replacement one regardless of when they purchased the device.

He said it would take some two weeks to prepare for a complete replacement of sold products, vowing to replace the faulty products with new ones as rapidly as possible.

Samsung's investigation had been underway after media reports said that some of the large-screen smartphones had caught fire while charging.

The fire-risk concerns would deal a blow to Samsung's reputation as it marks the first recall of its smartphones in the company's history.

The recall plan came just days before archrival Apple is scheduled to release its latest versions of iPhone and Apple Watch next week. Endit