South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. has begun a voluntary recall of about 161,000 electric ranges in the United States, an official said Sunday.

The move comes after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal agency, posted the recall on its website last week, citing burn and fire hazards to consumers.

The U.S. product safety regulators said that LG Electronics has received 80 reports of incidents involving burners failing to turn off or the temperature setting increasing unexpectedly during use, though no fires or injuries have been reported.

The recalled products made by LG Electronics’ units in South Korea and Mexico were sold in U.S. retailers, including Best Buy, Home Depot and Sears, from January 2006 to June 2010 for between $800 and $1999, according to the U.S. product safety regulators.

The commission advised customers to stop using the product and contact the company for a free in-home repair.

An official handling the case for LG Electronics’ headquarters in Seoul said that the company’s U.S. unit has begun a recall to replace parts for free of charge.

Still, she said she had no information on how many electric ranges have been recalled so far. She asked not to be identified because she was not authorized to speak to media. (Yonhap News)