Korean carriers are selling the GS5 before its April 11 launch to Avoid Ban.
Samsung's new Galaxy S5 smartphone appears to have slipped through the manufacturer's fingers, going on sale in South Korea two weeks ahead of schedule.
The flagship handset is now available in the Asian country via SK Telecom Co and two other carriers that are trying to rack up sales before they are temporarily banned from selling devices in the region.
Korean carriers, however, are facing a 45-day ban on selling phones after they attempted to illegally subsidize handsets. That ban falls in the midst of Samsung's Galaxy S5 roll out, so the carriers are likely trying to sell as many smartphone as they can before the ban goes into effect on April 5.
SK Telecom, the country's largest carrier, started selling the GS5 today for 866,800 won ($809) in its 3,000 retail stores and online.
