Management of Samsung Electronics has tendered an apology to its workers on Friday after they developed cancer from working at some of its factories. According to campaign groups that have been fighting this for a very long time, about 240 people have suffered from work-related illnesses after being employed at Samsung semiconductor and display factories, with around 80 of them — many of them young women — dying.The father to a dead 22-year-old worker and the company’s co-president Kim Ki-nam signed a formal settlement agreement in Seoul as other disabled ex-employees looked on.“We sincerely apologise to the workers who suffered from illness and their families,” said the firm’s co-president Kim Ki-nam.
“We have failed to properly manage health risks at our semiconductor and LCD factories.” Under a deal announced earlier this month, Samsung Electronics will pay the group’s employees compensation of up to 150 million won ($133,000) per case. This will cover up to 16 types of cancer, some other rare illnesses, miscarriages and congenital diseases suffered by the workers’ children. Claimants can have worked at plants as far back as 1984. the issue started in 2007 after a former workers at its semiconductor and display factories in Suwon, south of Seoul, and their families said that staff had been diagnosed or died of various forms of cancer. Photo Credit: Getty
