LG publicity stunt goes badly wrong

LG has said they will compensate the injured after 20 people were hurt during a publicity event to promote their new smartphone.

LG announced the new G2 earlier this month, and last week staged an event at a public park in northern Seoul where it released balloons with coupons attached.

According to reports, there were 100 coupons for free G2 smartphones.

Among the crowd were apparently some people intent on doing whatever they could to get hold of the coupons.

Some showed up with BB guns to shoot the balloons down so they could get their hands on the coupons.

In the melee and rush for these it appears 20 people were injured with some having to go to hospital.

LG admitted it had trouble controlling the crowd, according to the Korean Times.

The injuries have also prompted LG to cancel several other outdoor events planned to promote the G2 “due to safety concerns”.

A LG statement read: “LG Electronics deeply regrets that a number of Korean participants were injured during an outdoor promotional event in Seoul, Korea.

“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.”

One regional TV channel  dubbed the rush for the coupons “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.