Samsung Electronics said on Thursday it will freeze its South Korean employees’ wages in 2015 for the first time in six years, after the world’s top smartphone maker suffered a fall in profits in the face of rising competition. The South Korean giant in January recorded its first annual profit decline since 2011, as it lost market share to Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) new iPhones and cheaper Chinese rivals like Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL]. The last time Samsung Electronics froze salaries was 2009 when the company reeled from the global financial crisis.