"Demand for smartphone upgrades surged on the back of Galaxy S26 discounts," a telecom industry official said.
Samsung Electronics' "Thanksgiving Festival" promotion, which offered steep discounts on the Galaxy S26 series, pushed subscriber counts at all three major mobile carriers up by more than 10,000 in June.
Analysts said the large-scale consumer rebate program led by Samsung lifted demand during what is typically a slow season for the mobile market, spurring increases in new activations and number portability transfers.
According to the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association, mobile number portability transfers in June reached 641,932 — up 57,727, or 9.9 percent, from the previous month. The gain was unusual given that June is typically an off-peak month for the market.
SK Telecom posted a net gain of 6,252 subscribers, while LG Uplus added 3,163 and KT Corp gained 2,703.
June is generally considered a slow month for the mobile market, as no major new smartphones are typically released. Samsung Electronics' large-scale promotion stimulated upgrade demand, pushing carrier subscriber numbers well above expectations.
Samsung Electronics ran the "Thanksgiving Festival" from early June through Saturday, offering customers who purchased products a rebate worth 20 percent of the purchase price in Onuri gift vouchers — a government-backed currency designed to support local commerce. On the first day of the event, June 8, a single-day total of 33,472 smartphone activations were recorded.
Customers buying smartphones at carrier dealerships could stack multiple discounts — combining publicly announced carrier subsidies or installment plan discounts with the voucher rebate — significantly lowering the out-of-pocket cost. The 256GB Galaxy S26, which carries a retail price of 1.25 million won ($804), became available for around 500,000 won after factoring in carrier subsidies, rate plan discounts, credit card billing discounts and the Onuri voucher rebate.
"Samsung Electronics' Thanksgiving Festival drove a significant increase in smartphone sales last month," a telecom company official said. "The number of carrier subscribers also rose by more than 10,000 over the course of June — an unusually strong result for an off-peak month."
park@heraldcorp.com
