Samsung's defective washing machine fans consumer concerns

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Tue, October 3, 2023 | 05:31

Companies

Samsung's defective washing machine fans consumer concerns

Posted : 2022-08-17 16:40

Updated : 2022-08-17 18:29

Shattered pieces of the door of a Samsung Electronics washing machine. Yonhap

By Lee Kyung-min

Won Jeong-yeon, a mother of two in her 30s, makes sure that the door of her Samsung Electronics washing machine is tightly closed.

This is a new habit she has after watching the news about a man who cut his leg on pieces of the shattered door of his washing machine made by the consumer electronics giant after it exploded, Aug. 11.

The man sustained only minor injuries, but the sound from the explosion left him and his family in shock for days, according to local news media reports.

The man, who lives in Incheon, said the door of the machine exploded at around 11 a.m., just when he was about to enter the room where it was installed.

The door shattered into pieces with a loud crashing sound. He wanted to turn the machine off, but was unable to because he feared that there would be another explosion.

The man called Samsung's customer service hotline, but was told that no technical engineers were immediately available.

He called 119 and firefighters came and cut off the electricity to the machine.

A Samsung service employee came about an hour after the explosion and took the machine. The company offered to fix the door, but the man rejected the offer in favor of a refund.

Won said she thinks that the explosion could have led to a fatal accident, had the man been standing a few steps closer to the washing machine.

"I don't think he ever thought that the washing machine would explode. Nobody would have," Won said. "I use the machine almost every day. I'm worried that something might happen every time I go near it now."

She is among many Samsung Electronics washing machine users feeling increasingly uneasy about the supposedly top-quality product made by the global conglomerate.

The collective concerns have been amplified because the incident occurred less than a month after another similar explosion.

The user, who lives in the same city, said the washing machine's door had fallen off and shattered to pieces.

Samsung Electronics said some of its washing machines were found to be defective, adding that company engineers are conducting inspections.

"We are aware that some of our defective washing machines are causing inconveniences to consumers," it said. "The ones that are currently being produced have no problem."

lkm@koreatimes.co.kr