LG Execs Accused Of Vandalizing Samsung Washing Machines

(RTTNews) - South Korean home appliance giant LG has refuted claims of its arch rival Samsung that one of its senior executives vandalized the latter's washing machines. LG has posted a CCTV footage of the act on YouTube, that the company says "exonerates" the employee.

Samsung's filed a lawsuit against Jo Seong-jin, CEO of LG's home appliance division, and other executives alleging that they sabotaged four high-end Samsung washing machines last year at a store in Germany during the IFA trade show.

LG had denied the charges and counter-sued Samsung for defamation and tampering evidence. Last week, South Korean prosecutors indicted Jo on vandalism charges.

However, LG has now released the CCTV footage from the German store, which the company says proves its executives were testing and did not damage Samsung's washing machines.

The video titled LG Electronics' Cho Sung-jin includes the CCTV footage from the Berlin store that shows Jo and other LG employees testing the Samsung Crystal Blue Door front-load washing machine. The video, which is nearly 9 minutes long, shows several slow-motion shots of Jo examining the washing machines.

However, Samsung has accused LG of "arbitrarily editing" the footage. "We seriously considered revealing the full footage to the media but after careful consideration, we decided not to," Samsung said in a statement reports CNN.

"No electronics companies in the world test their competitor's product that is being displayed in foreign market," Samsung said. "The displayed products are for consumers. It is a standard procedure for them to purchase the product and test it in a lab."