"We are going to ask the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate and file a complaint against the advertisement of LG Electronics' dryer as a representative of the victims," said Sung Seung-hwan, a lawyer at the law firm Maeheon that operates the e-dryer victims' cafe on Jan. 2.
"We plan to file a separate civil lawsuit to demand compensation for damages by the end of this month, said Sung who is representing 560 consumers of LG Electronics' clothes dryers. The accused is LG Electronics and LG Electronics CEOs Kwon Bong-seok and Song Dae-hyun.
The complaint contained that LG Electronics violated laws on fairness of displays and advertisements, such as "exaggerated and deceptive displays and advertisements."
The advertisement for LG's dryer showed that automatic washing of condenser is done every time, but in reality, cleaning is done only when certain conditions are met.
This is in line with the earlier judgment of Korea Consumer Agency. The agency did not recognize consumers’ claims that LG Electronics' clothes dryer residual condensate and rust caused the disease, but judged that the advertisement differed from its actual function.
The agency proposed a mediation proposal to let LG Electronics pay 100,000 won per consumer, but neither the company nor consumers accepted the offer.
LG Electronics expanded its free repair service to all consumers on Dec. 18, which had been offered only to the requesters. However, the dispute with consumers of clothes dryers continues.