Samsung has accused the head of LG Electronics Inc's home appliances business of damaging Samsung's high-end washing machines in its Germany stores.
Samsung released a statement on Sunday asking the Seoul prosecutors to investigate its rival for purposely damaging some of its high-end washing machines on display in two stores in Berlin.
"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," Samsung said, quoted by Reuters.
LG quickly denied the allegations and told Reuters that Samsung has asked the prosecutors to investigate the company's head of home appliances division, Jo Seong-jin. German officials have also started investigating LG regarding the incident. A spokesman for Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, on the other hand, refused to comment.
The argument began when a Samsung clerk called the police alleging that LG employees damaged the doors of four "Crystal Blue" washing machines worth $2,700 each, according to the Wall Street Journal. An LG spokesperson confirmed the report, but clarified that it wasn't done intentionally. He also added that their employees just visited the Samsung store as part of their market research.
The LG employees agreed to pay for the four Samsung washing machines as ordered by the German authorities, even if only two of the devices were damaged. It is a common practice of LG to look into its rival's products and other competitors.
"Our executives, which included a company president, indeed paid this shop a visit to check out a number of products," LG's statement said.
LG defended that the company did not plan to destroy any of the products of its rival. Instead, it blamed the incident to the "weak hinges" of the machine door. This statement pushed Samsung, who initially did not press charges, to file a complaint against LG, as it seemingly tainted Samsung's brand image and implied that the washing machines were poorly constructed.
