Seoul/New Delhi, Jun 1 (IANS): Mobile users on 5G networks in South Korea reached over 15 million last month, data showed on Monday, as telecom operators race to acquire more users on the latest generation networks.

As of the end of April, 5G subscriptions stood at 15.15 million, accounting for 21.25 percent of the total 71.27 million mobile subscriptions in the country, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT.

South Korea has a population of 52 million.

The latest figure marks a slowdown in 5G user growth compared with the start of the year.

The country added around 671,000 5G subscriptions last month from March, while adding over 1 million 5G users on-month in January, reports Yonhap news agency.

Major smartphone makers have yet to release flagship devices in the local market since Samsung's launch of the Galaxy S21 series in January.

Last month, top mobile carrier SK Telecom had the most 5G subscribers at 7.07 million, followed by KT Corp. at 4.6 million and LG Uplus at 3.47 million.

Telecom operators have in recent months pushed out more affordable 5G smartphones, such as Samsung Electronics' ‘Galaxy Jump', to accelerate user migration from previous generation networks.

South Korea's telecom operators first launched 5G networks in April 2019.