A Samsung Electronics executive who used ‘profanities’ to insult LG’s 3D TV technology and the team who developed it, has apologised after LG threatened legal action.The issue blew up two weeks ago when Samsung Electronics’ Executive Vice President Kim Hyeon-seok, got stuck into LG Display CEO, Kwon Young-soo, for his comments about 3D glasses.

Now it has been revealed that Kim has sent a letter of apology to Lee Bang-soo, head of management support center at LG Display.

LG Display said he hasn’t opened the letter yet as Lee is away on a business trip. Kim apologises in the letter, according to industry sources.

In a media briefing held early this month, Kim openly insulted LG Display engineers. “I heard that LG Display CEO Kwon Young-soo had said ‘Passive glasses 3D TVs are also full HD.’ It seems that engineers working under him are all stupid,” he said, using a profanity at least once.

The verbal insult came amid conflict between Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, the world’s top two TV manufacturers, over the technical superiority of 3D TVs. LG Display is the group’s affiliate producing display panels for its sister firm LG Electronics.

LG Display CEO Kwon introduced their new film-type patterned retarder (FPR) technology as the next-generation 3D technology which provides full, high-definition quality pictures while overcoming cross-talk (image overlaps) and flickering.

Samsung, which supports active shutter glass technology, retorted that LG’s method was outdated and cannot render full high-definition on large screens.

It released an ad featuring an actor in a business suit next to a monkey, both wearing 3D glasses, in an apparent attempt to show the technology gap. This infuriated LG, and the anger exploded when Samsung’s Kim openly insulted the engineers. LG Display had sent a legal notice to Samsung Electronics, requesting it to confirm Kim’s remark at the media briefing, as a preparatory step before taking legal action.

“Our engineers pride themselves as global experts on displays but the insult hurt them,” an LG Display representative said. He added that if the company hadn’t taken any action regarding the insult, the engineers would have lost trust in the firm they work for. “This was the least we could do,” he said.

LG hasn’t decided whether to accept the apology. It will open the letter when Lee returns from his business trip Monday. “We will decide what to do after consulting our lawyers”.