SEOUL— Samsung Electronics Co. said on Tuesday that it is discontinuing its embattled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, pulling the plug on a product whose botched recall has brought headaches to consumers and damaged the Samsung brand.
Samsung said in a filing with South Korean regulators that it would permanently cease production and sales of the device, following a string of reported incidents in which supposedly safe replacements of the smartphone overheated and in some cases caught fire.
“Taking our customer’s safety as our highest priority, we have decided to halt sales and production of the Galaxy Note 7,” the company said.
Investor fears that the worsening crisis could affect South Korean smartphone giant’s reputation with consumers triggered selling that wiped off about $17 billion from Samsung Electronics’ market value.
Samsung shares tumbled 8%, its biggest one-day decline in eight years, far outpacing the broader South Korean market’s 1.2% pullback. The selloff came after Samsung told Galaxy Note 7 users world-wide on Tuesday to immediately switch off their original or replacement Note 7 s.
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