UK Edition
Samsung apologises to workers who developed cancer after exposure to toxic chemicals
Samsung has apologised to employees who developed cancer at one of its computer chip manufacturing facilities following a ten-year legal battle.
The announcement comes after the company and a group representing ailing Samsung workers agreed to accept compensation terms and end a highly-publicised standoff. The company's apology was part of the settlement.
Kim Ki-nam, the head of Samsung’s semiconductor business, said: "We sincerely apologise to the workers who suffered from illness and their families. We have failed to properly manage health risks at our semiconductor and LCD factories.”
Campaigners claim that 320 employees at Samsung have developed illnesses after being exposed to toxic chemicals at in its chip factories. They also claim that 118 people died as a result.
Employees who worked in Samsung factories as far back as 1984 have complained of illnesses including cancer, miscarriages and congenital diseases suffered by employees’ children.
Since 2007, ex-employees have fought a lengthy legal battle in South Korea in order to gain compensation from the firm.
Dozens of workers have sought occupational safety compensation from the government. Few won compensation, mostly after years of court battles. Half the remaining claims were rejected and half remain under review.
Families of the victims often have depleted their savings and sold their homes to pay hospital bills. Some workers end up incapacitated and unable to work.
Samsung has agreed to pay up to 150m won (£103,000) to people affected by the problems, it announced earlier this month.
The standoff began in when taxi driver Hwang Sang-gi refused to accept a settlement after his 23-year-old daughter died of leukemia after working at a Samsung factory.
Hwang's efforts to clarify the cause of Yu-mi's death and hold Samsung responsible for problems related to working conditions galvanized a broader movement to hold businesses and the government accountable for safety lapses in the chip and display industries, which use huge amounts of chemicals.
"No amount of apology will be enough to heal all the insults, the pain of industrial injuries and the suffering of losing one’s family.”
The 10-year legal fight over employee illnesses came as Samsung also dealt with the fallout of its effective head, Lee Jae-yong, who was jailed on corruption charges in 2017. It was alleged that he had provided gifts, including a horse, to friends of South Korea’s then-president Park Geun-hye. He was released later that year after the charges against him were dropped.
Samsung was also forced to apologise in 2017 after some models of its Galaxy Note 7 phones set on fire and exploded. The business later recalled all models of the phone.