South Korean prosecutors have raided the headquarters of LG Electronics in Seoul, following allegations the firm's executives vandalised their rival Samsung's washing machines at a trade fair in Germany.

Samsung had filed a lawsuit accusing the LG executives of defamation, property damage and obstruction of business and said LG home appliance division president Jo Seong-Jin was among those who damaged machines displayed at September's event in Berlin.

Investigators seized documents and computer hard disks during the raid on LG headquarters and the company's home appliance factory in the southern city of Changwon was also searched.

"Our office is under scrutiny by investigators," an LG spokesman said, without providing further details.

Samsung said surveillance video footage from the Berlin fair showed several men - whom they later identified as LG executives - destroying door hinges on the washing machines.

Samsung also accused LG of making slanderous claims that its washing machines were defective.

LG rejected the accusations in a statement, saying the company is "concerned that its business activities and brand image will be severely damaged because of the competitor's unilateral and unreasonable opinion".

Samsung leads the global markets for mobile phones and flat-screen televisions, while its smaller rival LG is one of the world's biggest manufacturers of home appliances, including refrigerators and washing machines.

The two have locked horns for years in the home market over a series of bitter PR disputes regarding the supremacy of their products and technology patent lawsuits.

AFP