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The two companies said in a joint statement they
would withdraw all complaints against each other and ask legal
authorities to refrain from meting out harsh punishments in
ongoing cases.
The announcement comes more than a month after LG appliances
chief Jo Seong-jin was indicted by Seoul prosecutors on a charge
of deliberately damaging Samsung washing machines at a retail
store in Germany last September, following a formal complaint
filed by Samsung seeking criminal punishment. Prosecutors have
not declared what penalty they would seek against Jo.
The two companies have attracted public mockery as they bickered
over issues such as how many washers were damaged by Jo and
other employees. When LG published surveillance video footage to
YouTube in an attempt to prove Jo's innocence, Samsung said the
video was heavily edited in the executive's favor.
The case adds to a history of clashes between the firms,
including an argument over refrigerator capacity and which of
the two has the bigger air-conditioning market share.
"Both sides have agreed to avoid legal action and resolve any
future conflicts or disputes through dialogue and mutual
agreement," the companies said.
The agreement extends to Samsung Electronics subsidiary Samsung
Display and to LG Display Co Ltd. Samsung Display employees were
indicted in February on charges of stealing organic
light-emitting diode (OLED) display panel technology from LG
Display. Samsung Display has said the technology was widely
known in the industry and that the indictment was excessive.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' office declined to
comment on the case against the LG Electronics appliances chief,
and the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office declined to comment
regarding its case against the Samsung Display employees.
(Editing by Tony Munroe and Stephen Coates)
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