Samsung is South Korea’s biggest company by far, with about 100,000 workers.
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A recent Associated Press report had alleged that South Korean authorities had on the request of Samsung repeatedly failed to inform workers and their families about the chemicals they were exposed to at its computer chip and liquid crystal display factories. Without it, government officials commonly reject their cases. However, he added that the government could not evaluate whether the details were real trade secrets or not.
A total of more than 200 cases of serious illnesses together with lupus, leukemia, lymphoma and multiple sclerosis among former Samsung semi-conductor and LCD staff were documented by an employee-safety staff.
SEOUL – Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that it had acquired U.S. luxury appliance maker Dacor as part of its push towards a full production line of high-end, internet-connected homeware.
It is extremely hard for South Koreans to successfully lobby for government compensation for occupational injuries and without details of the harmful chemicals his daughter was routinely exposed to. More than 200 cases of serious illness have been documented among Samsung workers.
Trade secrets were cited as the justification for withholding the information in at least six cases involving 10 workers. Yu-mi went to work bathing silicon wafers in chemicals at a Samsung factory that makes computer chips for laptops and other devices. “For that reason they are trade secrets that we treat strictly as secrets, we request not to disclose”.
The issue now is whether Samsung is keeping back information which could help workers who fell ill making its products get compensation.
In the Samsung case, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled five years ago that though the precise cause of two Samsung workers’ illness wasn’t clear, “it can be construed that their exposures to risky chemicals and radiation were catalysts, at least”.
In this April 22, 2016 photo, portraits of former Samsung semiconductor factory worker Hwang Yu-mi who died from leukemia in 2007, are displayed outside Samsung buildings in Seoul, South Korea.
After her death in 2007, Hwang’s father first claim for government compensation was denied. Seventy-six have died, most in their 20s and 30s. Firms are, however, obliged to disclose whether their products contain toxic substances.
Since 2008, 56 workers have applied for occupational safety compensation from the government. She died of leukemia four years later. Only 10 won compensation, most after years of court battles.
“My house is subsidized by the government”.
More than 100 families left with few other options accepted a compensation plan Samsung proposed previous year, which covered some medical fees and some income for workers with any of 26 diseases.
Recently, there has been some movement toward greater transparency.
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Baik Soo-ha, a Samsung Electronics vice president, told the AP that Samsung has redacted trade secrets in documents given to individuals only when their requests appeared not “purely” meant to determine occupational diseases. “But it took three years and eight months”.
