Why did Samsung destroy 600,000 pebble blue battery covers belonging to the Samsung Galaxy S III?

A photograph of an early version of the pebble blue Samsung Galaxy S III was obtained by mobile bulgaria.com. The picture is supposed to show white splotches on the back cover which did not meet the Korean manufacturer's high quality standards. However, the blotch is not easy to see as it is below the surface and the back has to be at an angle. While it might not jump out at you, if you keep staring at it like one of those Magic Eye pictures, eventually you will see it. Hopefully this doesn't take as long to figure out as the white version of the Apple iPhone 4 did. Apple was said to have tried a number of coating combinations in an attempt to keep the light from leaking from the white casing.

Ironically, with the Samsung Galaxy S III, it is the white version that is not affected by the manufacturing problem. Does it really matter to buyers of the Samsung Galaxy S III which color they buy? Would you change your pre-order to a white model from a blue one if it meant getting the phone earlier? Obviously it meant something to Samsung to make sure that their new flagship phone was launched without a blemish because destroying 600,000 already manufactured back covers doesn't come cheaply. Then, there is the cost to run off another 600,000 replacement covers. But it had to done because if there is one thing that you can't put a price on, it's a company's reputation.

source: mobilebulgaria.com (translated) via Phandroid