Samsung to talk to leukemia victims’ group

Samsung Electronics is expected to soon resume dialogue with a group representing the firm’s former employees who were diagnosed with leukemia and other illnesses after working at its chip-making plants.

“We proposed resuming negotiations to Samsung in December on resolving this matter,” a Banollim spokesperson said. “Some Samsung executives have reacted positively to our offer, saying the firm is also ready to reopen the talks.”

Banollim represents a total of 58 workers, who it claims died of various diseases after being exposed to chemicals at Samsung’s semiconductor plants.

A Samsung official said that the firm is eager to narrow differences over the compensation issue because it has damaged the firm’s reputation as the world’s top memory chipmaker for years. Samsung has never admitted that the deaths have anything to do with working conditions nor has any third-party study established a firm link.

“There have been many false allegations about the working conditions in our chip plants. There is a common understanding among executives that we should address this case as quickly as possible,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The comments raise hopes for an early compromise on the issue, but there are still major obstacles.

As of October, the number of people who were diagnosed with diseases after working at the Samsung plants totaled 151.

The families of five of the deceased are now in a legal battle to prove a link between their deaths and their jobs. The families claim the workers died of job-related diseases, while Samsung says there is no scientific data supporting their claims.

The bereaved families have demanded a public apology from Samsung, while urging the government to give the disease-struck former employees the status of “industrial disaster victims” and compensate them in accordance with the law.

They also called for a full-scale investigation into chemicals being used in the chip plants and urged Samsung to reveal related information.

Samsung have rejected it, saying it will pay the patients’ hospital bills and provide enough money to support their living, if the families withdraw their demands and drop the ongoing lawsuit.

“The leukemia case is not about Samsung. If they are recognized as industrial disaster victims, it will affect similar compensation issues involving other local firms,” said an official from the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobby group for conglomerates.

In 2011, a district court held Samsung responsible for the death of two former employees and ordered a state-run welfare agency to pay compensation to their family members. The agency appealed the ruling, claiming there is no link between their diseases and deaths. <The Korea Times/Na Jeong-ju>