Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
FedEx CEO urged not to deliver anthrax
A member of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union conducts a performance in front of the FedEx Korea building in Seoul, Friday. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
FedEx is facing mounting criticism over the delivery of a live anthrax sample.
The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union criticized the firm Friday for having ignored its duty to protect its workers and the public from hazardous materials.
“The company must take safety measures immediately to protect handling and delivery workers,” the union told a news conference. “In addition, the company must stop delivering anthrax samples.”
The press conference took place in front of the FedEx Korea building in Seoul.
Kim Chang-nam, head of FedEx Korea’s labor union, said Frederick Smith, founder and CEO of FedEx, should take steps to ease concerns among workers and resolve the controversy.
“It is not too late,” Kim said at the conference.
The world’s top package courier has been embroiled in controversy after accidently delivering live anthrax samples for Pentagon-led military experiments across the United States as well as to Canada, Australia and South Korea, among others.
The union accused the global delivery service of a bungled response to the union’s demand for unveiling the truth behind the incident and establishing proper countermeasures.
Unionists claimed the company was not telling the truth when it asserted it had not known about the delivery of anthrax samples.
In a letter to the chairman of the union, the company said it strictly complied with international guidelines required in the delivery of sensitive material.
“The cargo was completely sealed in a triple-wrapped package,” the company said. “Workers of the FedEx Korea, customers and general citizens have not been exposed to any danger.”
The union argued that such an answer was evidence that the company was aware that the cargo it delivered was the high-hazard material as it mentioned “sensitive material.”
“The company has a legal responsibility for notifying its workers of safety information involving their working place in accordance with the Industrial Safety and Health Act, which the firm seemed to have ignored in the latest incident,” said lawyer Lee Seok.
The union said it is planning to file a lawsuit against the company.
The Korea Times has asked FedEx about what measures are being taken to prevent a recurrence of such an incident. But the firm has not replied for more than a week.
Regarding questions about the route of the sample that was shipped to Korea, the contents of the invoice and the packaging method, the company declined to elaborate.
Employees of FedEx Korea belong to the union that is an affiliate of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the nation’s second-largest umbrella union.
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