22 People Injured in LG Promotional Event for New G2 in South Korea
posted Sunday Aug 18, 2013 by Nicholas DiMeo
Sometimes, the tech world has some mishaps and usually nobody gets hurt. Unfortunately, this is not one of those times. In Seoul, South Korea, LG was holding a promotional event this week for their newest smartphone, the LG G2. As part of the event, there was a contest of sorts where people had to race for balloons which contained a voucher for a free G2. During that contest, 22 people were injured in the sheer pandemonium that ensued.
The Korea Times is reporting that some of the people in attendance were carrying BB guns and even one woman brought a very large, sharp-ended staff with her. The armed ones were apparently trying to steal the coupons from those who decided to play fair. Because of the unfortunate injuries that took place, LG will be covering all of the medical and hospital expenses for the affected patrons.
LG has since cancelled future promotional events related to their ad campaign for the G2. From their statement after the incident,
We canceled events offering free G2 smartphones that had been scheduled in major cities nationwide, including Busan, due to safety concerns. We will provide (the injured) with proper medical treatment as we are responsible for the event
Bloggers at the event have reported that "only some 20 security guards" were on-hand working for LG and perhaps the company could have "placed more security personnel" at the event, which was promoted heavily through the various social networks and media sites.
You can hit the break to see a Korean news report showing the excitement and even some of the weapons.