LG has been forced to cancel a major promotional campaign for its new G2 smartphone after 20 people were injured during a chaotic event in Seoul.
According to the Korea Times, the company was planning to launch helium balloons with vouchers for free smartphones attached as part of a promotion called “G in the cloud”.
Unfortunately for the electronics giant, the event had to be called off after onlookers attempted to steal the vouchers by popping the balloons with BB guns, injuring fellow onlookers.
“Some were using BB guns to shoot the balloons. As far as I know, there were only some 20 security guards. LG should have placed more security personnel as the event was already promoted via social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and leading local portals. Some of the injured were hospitalized,” a witness said.
“We cancelled events offering free G2 smartphones that had been scheduled in major cities nationwide, including Busan, due to safety concerns,” LG said in a statement.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
