Samsung delivers apology to victims of work-related diseases – Yonhap

Samsung Electronics Co. made a formal apology Friday to all victims of work-related diseases who were employed at the company’s chip and display production lines, settling the long-standing dispute that lasted for more than a decade, Yonhap News Agency reports.

Samsung Electronics President and CEO Kim Ki-nam, in charge of the device solution division, “expressed deep regrets on behalf of the company to the victims, claiming that Samsung will make every effort to comply with the compensation plan prepared by the mediation committee”, according to Yonhap.

“Beloved colleagues and families have suffered for a long time, but Samsung Electronics failed to take care of the matter earlier,” Kim was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

“We lacked being considerate of such pains and promptly settled the issue.

“Samsung Electronics also did not fully and completely manage potential health risks at our chip and liquid-crystal display production lines. Today, we wish to express a sincere apology to the workers who suffered from diseases, as well as their families,” Kim added.

The dispute began back in 2007, when an employee of Samsung died of leukemia.

The mediation committee had announced earlier that the compensation will comprise 132,000 USD per illness.

Kim reiterated that Samsung will unconditionally accept the mediation.

Along with the compensation, Samsung donated 50 billion won to the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency to help improve workers’ safety and health in the country, according to Yonhap.