South Korea is on the first place in the top five countries with the most advanced 5G networks, according to a recent report. A December report also predicted that adoption of 5G smartphones will be the largest in the world in South Korea. Scheduled for deployment this month, March 2019, the commercial roll-out of 5G in the country has been delayed to next month, April 2019.

We determined that it is much more desirable to wait until 5G smartphones’ quality will become secure. There is still a chance for 5G rollout in March, but it is not high. — Chun Sung-bae, Ministry of Science and ICT

The Korea Herald reports that despite Samsung and LG both introducing their 5G smartphones, they are struggling to meet the quality standards imposed by the government by the end of the month. Industry sources cited by the publication say that the 5G LG V50 ThinQ will have to wait until April, when Qualcomm will ship its new X50 modem chip. Samsung, says the report, while having its own chip, it faces problems and needs more time to pass trials.

It’s fair to say that the whole 5G rollout timetable was based on when Samsung’s 5G smartphone would hit the market. … If there is a (delay) within Samsung, the whole launch would consequently (be delayed) — unnamed source

The government also rejected SK Telecom’s pricing plan for 5G mobile services, motivating it by saying it “restricts the consumers’ right for choices”. This further adds to the problem, as even if smartphone manufacturers would be able to have their products ready by end of March, mobile carriers “would not be ready to determine how much they would charge for the new service”.

You can read the entire report at the source link below.