Seoul, March 15 (AHN) South Korean tech giants faced higher production costs in 2025 as they felt the pinch from inflation, data showed on Sunday, with the supply chain crisis stemming from Middle East tensions set to further increase pressure this year.

According to a regulatory filing by Samsung Electronics Co., the company spent 99.94 trillion won on purchasing raw materials in 2025, up 8.8 percent, or 8 trillion won, from a year earlier. The data excludes the firm's wholly owned subsidiary Samsung Display Co.

The sharp rise was mostly attributable to the firm's Device Experience (DX) division, which includes mobile and TV businesses, with the segment spending 74.5 trillion won on raw materials, up nearly 7 trillion won from a year earlier, reports Yonhap news agency.

LG Electronics Inc. also spent 17.4 trillion won on raw materials in 2025, up 5.6 percent from a year earlier.

Industry watchers said the U.S.-Iran war is expected to lead to higher oil and logistics costs this year, eventually leading to even greater cost burdens for tech giants.

Tech manufacturers had already been facing mounting pressure amid memory price hikes following the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

"With the Middle East crisis adding to existing challenges, major companies are implementing emergency management measures, including improving production efficiency through AI transformation and cutting costs," an industry official said.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics maintained its stronghold on the global soundbar market for the 12th straight year in 2025, data showed on Sunday, on the back of its immersive audio technology.

Citing data compiled by market tracker Future Source, Samsung Electronics said its soundbars accounted for 21.7 percent of the global market in 2025 in terms of revenue.

The company said the milestone was made possible on the back of its products' advanced features, such as Q-Symphony, which allows users to play audio from soundbars and TV speakers simultaneously.

"Samsung's sustained success in the soundbar market is driven by advanced audio technology, immersive sound and seamless integration with Samsung TVs," the company said in a release.

—AHN

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