Samsung counters LG with 50 bil. won advertising suit

Samsung Electronics Co. has launched a suit against rival LG Electronics Inc. demanding 50 billion won (US$45 million) in compensation for denting its brand value, sources said Monday.

In the lawsuit filed with the Seoul Southern District Court on Friday, the world's top maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-panel TVs demanded its home-turf competitor to pay the cited amount in damages, according to the legal sources.

The move marks the latest development in the ongoing advertising row between South Korea's two biggest electronics manufacturers.

LG Electronics earlier filed a 10 billion won compensation suit against Samsung Electronics with the same court following controversial YouTube advertising footage that compares the size of their refrigerators.

The video posted by Samsung Electronics last August under the title "Inconvenient truth about refrigerator capacity" shows the capacity of its own refrigerator compared to a rival refrigerator by pouring water and putting small cans into the two refrigerators.

In response, LG Electronics released online advertisements condemning Samsung Electronics in addition to the compensation suit.

Court records showed that Samsung Electronics claimed that LG Electronics "tarnished its corporate image" by distributing advertisements that misconstrued facts as part of its advertising strategy.

Samsung and LG, two of South Korea's biggest technology-focused conglomerates, have been beefing up their competition on their home turf. Their affiliates -- Samsung Display Co. and LG Display Co. -- are also embroiled in patent suits over display technology.