Rumored Korean Pixel launch debunked by Google

Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro [GOOGLE]

Google's Pixel smartphones will not be launching in Korea, as the U.S. IT giant remains unconvinced about entering the home turf of Samsung, known to be a graveyard for foreign smartphone brands.

It was rumored that Google was bringing its flagship Pixel smartphones to Korea for the first time after it recruited full-time engineers for a team called Pixel Mobile Wireless, who will be working in Seoul. The minimum qualifications included five years of developing and shipping cellular products.

The recruitment, however, will not lead to the introduction of Pixel phones in Korea, according to the company.

“We don't have plans to launch Pixel phones in Korea,” a Google Korea spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Google's Pixel smartphones were first launched in 2016 globally, marking one of its first forays into the hardware business. Its presence in the global smartphone market stays minimal, however, with just 10 million Pixels shipped last year compared to Samsung's 261 million.

It recently launched the new Pixel 8 smartphone in October.

Samsung accounted for 84 percent of Korea's smartphone market in the third quarter, according to Counterpoint Research data, followed by Apple with 15 percent.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]