SK Telecom rapidly increased the number of its 5G subscribers in May with aggressive marketing for new smartphones, regaining a leading market position in the next-generation mobile network, government data showed on July 2. 

The firm’s 5G users numbered 319,976 as of the end of May, gaining 5.7 percentage points to take a 40.8 percent market share, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
 

KT came next with a 32.1 percent share in May, shedding 6.5 percentage points from a month earlier. KT attracted the most 5G customers in the month following its commercial 5G launch in April, but it lost that title the next month.

LG Uplus added 0.7 percentage point to reach 27.1 percent of the market in May, the data showed.

Industry officials attributed SK Telecom’s strong performance to its aggressive marketing for the LG V50 ThinQ, LG Electronics’ first 5G phone, launched May 10.

The mobile carrier provided up to 770,000 won ($662) in subsidies for the phone, which was priced at 1.2 million, along with other promotions for its premium service.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)