The Korea Herald

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Government belatedly reinvestigates first explosion of Note 7

By Shin Ji-hye

Published : Nov. 17, 2016 - 17:33

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The state-run Korea Testing Laboratory has launched a reinvestigation into an explosion case of the Galaxy Note 7, which was the first reported case after Samsung launched replacement devices, according to local news reports Thursday.

The Korea Testing Laboratory will reportedly announce the final result after closely looking into the exploded devices, including the replacement.

The reinvestigation came after local news report revealed that KTL had neglected the exploded devices instead of collecting them. Its chief had vowed to relook into them within October, however, the devices were left at Samsung Electronics.

On Oct. 1, a local consumer surnamed Lee first claimed his replacement Note 7 caught fire, posting several photos online. After the controversy arose, Samsung took the phone in question from Lee and requested an investigation by the private certification company SGS and KTL the following day.

Both organizations released results the next day, saying “Upon investigation, the explosion likely came from external impact.”

However, as more reports on explosions followed in other nations including the US and Taiwan, Samsung discontinued the Galaxy Note 7 on Oct. 11. Two days later, KTL’s chief Lee Won-bok vowed to reinvestigate the issue within the month, during a parliamentary inspection.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)