South Korean technology company LG Electronics Inc. said Monday it will exit its unprofitable mobile phone business in the face of stiff competition from rivals like Samsung Electronics Co.

"LG Electronics has been closely reviewing the direction of its mobile business, and at a board meeting on April 5 it decided to exit the mobile business by July 31," the company said in a statement, adding that it plans to focus on its core business to prepare for the future.

LG Electronics said in January it would consider "all possibilities" for the future of its mobile phone division. The company first started making mobile phones in 1995.

LG Electronics was once the world's third-largest mobile phone maker in terms of market share. But its mobile business has been in the red since the second quarter of 2015, with its accumulated operating losses reaching 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion) last year, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The company said it will retain the core technologies developed through its mobile phone business and apply them to existing and future products.

==Kyodo

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