A bizarre spat has broken
out between South Korean manufacturing giants Samsung and LG, with Samsung
accusing its rival of damaging its goods, BBC reports.
Samsung says employees of
LG Electronics, one a senior executive, were seen deliberately destroying some
washing machines in stores in Germany.
Samsung says the
vandalism took place earlier this month ahead of a major electronics trade fair
in Berlin.
LG accepts two machines
were damaged but said it was done accidentally. It said the damage occurred because the
model's hinges were weak.
LG said its
executives had been examining its rivals' goods and it had offered to pay for
four machines at one store, although only two were damaged by them during the
inspection.
German police have already
questioned those involved.
Damage
Samsung said in a
statement: "It is very unfortunate that Samsung had to request that a
high-ranking executive be investigated by the nation's legal authorities, but
this was inevitable, as we concluded that we had to get to the bottom of this
incident."
It has asked prosecutors
in Seoul to investigate.
An LG spokeswoman told
Reuters that Jo Seong-jin, head of the company's home appliances division, was
one of the people named in Samsung's investigation request.
LG said in a statement:
"If our company had an intention to destroy products of a certain company
to tarnish the image of the product, it would be common sense to not have our
executives directly carry out such acts.
"We hope that this
is not an attempt to damage our reputation."
The two companies are
fierce rivals, competing in a number of different markets, including phones and
televisions.
LG claims to be the
world's largest maker of washing machines, with Samsung the second largest.
A BBC reporter says "In the past, LG and Samsung have
confronted each other over smartphones, televisions, fridges and
air-conditioners. Washing machines is a new front in the global battle."
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