Twenty people were injured,
with seven sent to hospital, when a promotional stunt in Seoul for LG's G2
smartphone went wrong, the company has said.LG has cancelled a series of events
promoting the handset as a result of the incident in Seoul on Friday.People
arrived with BB guns and knives on sticks for a race to grab smartphone
vouchers hanging from helium balloons.
LG has taken responsibility
for the situation and said it would cover related medical costs."LG
Electronics deeply regrets that a number of Korean participants were injured
during an outdoor promotional event in Seoul, Korea," a statement from the
firm said.
"We can confirm that
seven participants were hospitalised and, although none of the injuries were
serious, LG takes full responsibility for the unfortunate situation and has
offered to cover all related medical expenses."LG is investigating the
incident to ensure that such an occurrence can be avoided in the future."The
company added that other planned events had been called off because of safety
concerns.
Surge of people
LG released 100 helium
balloons, each with a free smartphone voucher, at the so-called G in the Cloud
event, which took place in an outdoor park in the South Korean capital city.The
phones, which sell for KRW 950,000 in South Korea ($851; £550), would be given
to people in possession of the voucher, the company said.
Customers arrived with BB guns
to shoot down the balloons and surged forward when they were released.One
person carried a pointed staff to the event.One regional TV channel has dubbed
the scrum "World War G" - a comparison to the film World War Z in
which zombies scramble over each other to climb over a wall.The handset was
released in New York last week, after weeks of build-up on social media.It is
expected to be available globally with more than 130 carriers within several
weeks.
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