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August 29, 2008 12:29:23 CDT

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The Exploding Phone Was A Hoax!

Posted Nov 29, 07 7:00 CST in Technology,  World 

(Newser) – A South Korean man thought to have been killed by an exploding cell phone was actually accidentally run over by a coworker. The quarry worker, found dead yesterday morning with a melted cell phone in his pocket, was not in fact slain by his mobile. "I lied that the battery exploded and killed Seo," says the culprit, who backed his excavator into the victim.

Several press sources in Korea quickly reported that the man was killed by his phone, and worldwide media picked up the story and ran with it. But some observers were skeptics from the beginning, given that the phone was found in one piece, the Korea Times reports. The Times also raises the possibility that phone manufacturer LG might sue the papers that reported their phone was to blame.

Source Korea Times

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Pedestrians pass by logos of LG Electronics Inc. on a street in Seoul in this Jan. 24, 2006 file photo. LG Electronics Inc., a major producer of mobile phones and consumer electronics, said Tuesday, Oct....   (Associated Press)
Exclusive to AT&T, the Shine by LG features a silver exterior and features AT&T Video Share, AT&T Video Share, Mobile Banking, AT&T Mobile Music and more. (PRNewsFoto/AT&T Inc, BBDO ATLANTA.)   (Associated Press)
This file photo provided by Verizon Wireless shows the Voyager by LG phone. (AP Photo/Verizon, file)   (Associated Press)
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