[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics announced on Oct. 11 it has decided to suspend the global sales and replacements of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after a number of replacement phones caught fire in Korea and overseas.

The Korean tech giant said the decision was made after consultations with the state-run Korean Agency for Technology and Standards and other product safety authorities in the US and China.

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission also said in a statement it was the right move for Samsung to stop selling the fire-prone phone.

Following several reports of fire and explosion even in replacement phones with a new battery recently, Samsung suspended the production of the Galaxy Note 7 over the weekend for a thorough inspection.

In early September, the company issued a global recall of the bigger-screen phone due to faulty batteries that caused explosions while charging. The device went on sale on Aug. 19.

By Lee Ji-yoon ()