by Thinus Ferreira
LG Electronics South Africa's warehouse and factory in Durban supplying TV sets and other products to South Africa and into Africa was looted and the building then set alight and burnt down by criminals as part of the ongoing unrest in the country.
The Korean Embassy in South Africa confirmed that the country's LG Electronics warehouse and factory in Cornubia Industrial Park in Sundew Road in north-Durban was looted by 9 people on Monday, after which 120 more criminals joined to steal products and appliances, including TV sets, manufactured and stored in the warehouse.
On social media shocking videos circulated of criminals taking everything they could carry, even driving away with a forklift filled with LG NanoCell TV sets.
LG South Africa on Tuesday also abruptly cancelled an LG UltraGear gaming monitor media event that would have taken place virtually on Wednesday. LG said that a new date for the event would be communicated later.
"In light of the
unfortunate activities taking place across parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, LG Electronics would like to inform you that a decision has been made to
postpone the UltraGear Gaming event," the company told the media.
Deuk Soo Ahn, president of LG South Africa, in response to a media enquiry, told TVwithThinus in a statement that "We take the safety of our workers seriously and reassure South Africans that we are working as swiftly and with great caution as we investigate the impact of what occurred at our factory in Durban."
"It's by no means an easy situation, and we are working hard to ensure operations get back up and running."
"We can confirm that no workers have been injured due to the factory looting and fire. The current situation is under investigation by our executive team," LG SA said.
