Samsung signs leukemia deal
Negotiators of the Samsung Electronics leukemia dispute pose at a law firm office in central Seoul, Tuesday, after signing an agreement on preventive measures for workplace safety. From left are Samsung Electronics Senior Vice President Baek Soo-hyun, Samsung leukemia talk’s mediation body leader Kim Ji-hyeong, leukemia victims’ family group representative Song Chang-ho and Banolim head Hwang Sang-ki. / Yonhap
Company agrees to establish ombudsman body for safety check
By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Electronics has signed an agreement with two groups representing victims of leukemia and other diseases who worked at its chip plants.
The agreement, announced on Tuesday, calls for the company to establish independent ombudsmen to monitor safety.
“Samsung Electronics, Banolim, a local civic group, and the Family Compensation Committee over Leukemia Issue (FCCLI) agreed to establish an independent committee for the safety of the workplaces at Samsung plants,” said Kim Ji-hyung, chief negotiator at the three-member compensation body dealing with the issue, at a news conference.
Lee Cheol-soo, a law professor at Seoul National University, and two experts will be the ombudsmen. Kim said.
Samsung Electronics will also set up a new healthcare management center and invest more for research projects and activities to improve safety at the company’s memory chip and display factories.
“The three parties also agreed that the ombudsmen have the rights to ask Samsung Electronics to receive documents and data, if necessary, to monitor the health conditions of its factory workers,” Kim told the conference, packed with more than 120 local and overseas journalists. “The newly created external body has the right to ask Samsung to correct issues if any harmful substances are found during checks.”
The ombudsmen will be operational from this year. They will operate for three years, but the term can be extended by another three years.
In addition, Samsung plans to extend its period for retaining documents, which may affect factory workers’ safety.
Samsung said it would fully cooperate with factory workers, and offer access to the documents related to health and safety in cases of occupational ailments.
“Tuesday’s agreement is meaningful. Samsung hopes all the parties will fulfill the agreed settlement,” said Baek Soo-hyun, Samsung Electronics chief negotiator.
The agreement comes nine years after the civic group Banolim raised questions in 2007 about the safety of Samsung’s key semiconductor and display plants after the death of a female worker, 22, from leukemia while working at a Samsung plant.
Banolim had asked Samsung to set up a public committee with environmental and health experts to inspect its plants regularly. It also asked the company to invest 100 billion won as seed money for this, as well as making an official apology.
Samsung was asked to make available at random requests details of chemical substances used at its plants. The company refused to set up the public committee and to open up key confidential data; but it agreed to invest 100 billion won within the company.
Vice chairman Kwon Oh-hyun earlier issued an official public apology about the issue.
The FCCLI was separated from Banolim because the two had different views about early compensation from Samsung, after the company set up an internal compensation body. As of Monday, about 100 former workers out of 150 who applied for early compensation had received compensation.
Banolim founder Hwang Sang-ki said the agreement was partial.
He said the group would continue its ongoing street demonstration at Seocho Samsung Tower, asking for more compensation from the company.