Korea’s Samsung and LG TV Prices Are 2~3 times Expensive than Those of USA’s

During the Black Friday event in the United States in November 2015, Samsung Electronics’ 55-inch SUHD TV was sold at a price of 1.15 million won. This was when it was sold at a price of around 3 million won at retail stores in Korea.

LG Electronics’ 65-inch UHD TV was sold at a price of around 5 million won in domestic consumer electronics stores, much higher than its U.S. price of 2.43 million won.

The prices of consumer electronics items are staying high in Korea. The average domestic sales prices of TVs, smartphones, laptop computers, tablet computers, vacuum cleaners, and coffee makers are higher than those of major industrialized countries, including the United States, Germany, and Japan. This is the background behind last year’s 20-percent increase in Koreans’ online purchase of foriegn products.

Most of Korean home electronics items come equipped with “excessive features.” Unlike major foreign home electronics companies which focus on core functionalities, Korean counterparts are raising the prices of their products by adding a variety of high-end specs.