Details are a bit sketchy at this point but, LG Electronics are to will voluntarily recall about 1 million washing machines in its home market to change door locks to help prevent child-safety accidents.
LG will replace the locks on some models manufactured between August 2003 and October 2008 to allow doors of the front-loading washing machines to be opened from the inside, the Seoul-based company said in a statement. The replacement will begin on March 2, according to the a statement by LG.
The recall is part of precautionary measures aimed at preventing accidents to children who may open washing machines and climb inside, LG said. The announcement is a follow-up to a campaign the company began in October 2008, when it distributed safety-caps to keep washing-machine doors from closing when not in use, according to LG.
In 2008, two children got stuck in them and died because the door could not be opened from inside.
Home appliance makers have changed the doors of such washing machines since then so that they can be opened from inside. However, the companies did not recall older models. The washing machine in the latest accident was also of the old type.
LG Electronics will begin the recall on March 2 and replace the door locks. The recall will affect 1.05 million 10 kg and 12 kg washers manufactured before November 2008, when stronger safety rules were introduced.
LG said changing the door lock will reduce a possibility of safety accidents that could happen due to a client’s negligence. It is also staging a safety campaign to prevent children from climbing inside a washer and locking themselves in.
The measure comes a few days after the death of a 7-year-old boy who was found lying dead inside a front-loading washing machine at his home in the central city of Daejeon.
