Now to South Korea, which claims to be the first country to launch fifth-generation-serviced phones. Three mobile carriers - SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus - have held launch events across the capital for the Galaxy S10, whose base version costs more than 16-hundred US dollars. The Chinese tech giant Huawei is an LG UPlus-supplier. It's estimated 5G and related technologies could yield more than half a trillion US dollars globally in the next fifteen years. And as Joseph Kim reports, South Korea hopes to be one of the biggest winners.

The world's first commercial 5G service. At least, that's according to South Korea. The country is launching phones for what they claim is the world's first fifth-generation network.

OH WON-CHANG 30-YEAR-OLD SOUTH KOREAN CUSTOMER "I'm very excited about this. I was told 5G incredibly lowers latencies so I can enjoy streaming games better."

JEONG YU-JEONG 29-YEAR-OLD SOUTH KOREAN CUSTOMER "5G allows me to download big files very quickly. I can watch a movie faster without delays or buffering and I can enjoy it all at home."

Samsung's new 5G phone carries over a whopping US$1200 price tag. The company revealed it earlier this week, just hours before carriers in the US with the help of K-pop stars and an Olympic athlete. US telecom provider Verizon, however, is calling South Korea's move a "publicity stunt."

RYU YOUNG-SANG EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, SK TELECOM "As the world's first (commercial 5G provider), diverse venture businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises and corporations will gain new opportunities in the global ICT market."

5G's super-fast network will give users download speeds 20 times faster than 4G. It will also enhance gaming, high-quality streaming and virtual and augmented reality. There are hopes this will help turn around the economy, which saw its economic growth hit a six-year low last year. And officials hope the technology will jumpstart innovation on a grander scale.

JOSEPH KIM SEOUL "South Korea has heavily invested in smart cities, autonomous driving and drone technology in the past but now that the 5G era is here, it's likely these areas will get even more attention from Seoul going forward. In addition, concerns are still voiced that the potential health and security risks associated with 5G technology need to be studied. JOSEPH KIM, CGTN, SEOUL."