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A number of consumers are complaining to Samsung Electronics after they found that PC monitors and laptops they have bought under the Samsung name are actually built on cheaper foreign-made LCD panels. Dozens of users have posted complaints on Web sites yesterday accusing Samsung of deceiving customers by not informing them that the monitors use made-in-Taiwan LCD panels, which are cheaper and considered less credible among Korean consumers. In online and offline markets, monitors that have Samsung or LG labels are generally sold at prices up to 40 percent higher than similar products from foreign makers.
``If a Hyundai car is found to have a Daewoo engine, should we keep calling it a Hyundai?’’ a user commented on Danawa.com, the largest electronics price comparison Web site.
Several Samsung monitor models, including the 20-inch XL20 model, are built on non-Samsung panels either because the company does not produce that specific size, or because it is more affordable, the site revealed. A company official told The Korea Times that some laptop PCs it sells also don’t incorporate Samsung panels.
``It is a natural decision for the company that we don’t always use Samsung panels when they are not price-competitive. I think other makers are similar in that perspective,’’ he said on condition of anonymity.
Samsung is the world’s largest LCD panel maker, with more than a quarter of the world’s total market. Samsung’s LCD products are generally considered as a top quality, along with Sharp of Japan.
But Samsung is also known for its cold-blooded competitiveness among its six independent business divisions. The LCD panels are manufactured from its LCD division located in Tangjong, South Chungchong Province, while its monitors, laptops and PCs are manufactured by its Digital Media division, based in Suwon, Kyonggi Province.
Regardless, consumers insist that the company at least should have informed them about the origin of the panels because Korean consumers clearly prefer panels made by Samsung and LG.Philips LCD, and the companies take advantage of the fact that people are willing to pay more for them.
LCD panels are one of the most sensitive criteria in buying PC monitors and laptops. It is a widespread practice that the first thing a meticulous consumer to do is to scrutinize the monitor for pixels that do not operate properly, and request a refund if there are more than just a few such spots. Accordingly, smaller makers often charge 10 or 20 percent more for products that are built on Samsung or LG panels than ones that use Taiwanese panels as they guarantee ``no defects’’ in Korean-made ones.


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