Bangkok Post

Samsung apologises after chairman jailed for union sabotage

- CLAIRE LEE

SEOUL: The chairman of Samsung Electronic­s Co Ltd, the world’s biggest smartphone and chip maker, has been jailed for sabotaging union activities, prompting a rare apology from the firm yesterday.

Chairman Lee Sang-hoon and executive vice president Kang Kyung-hoon were both sentenced on Tuesday to 18 months for leading a wide-ranging operation to deter staff at Samsung’s customer service unit from operating a union.

Samsung Electronic­s is the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung Group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomera­tes known as chaebol that have propelled South Korea’s rise to the world’s 11th-largest economy.

Along the way, the company has fought ferociousl­y against union representa­tion, until local authoritie­s in Suwon, where it is headquarte­red, last month certified the National Samsung Electronic­s Union, which is affiliated with a powerful umbrella group.

Lee and Kang were found guilty by the Seoul Central District Court of violating labour union laws, with prosecutor­s saying they had ordered subordinat­es to cut union members’ wages and to discover and exploit details of their personal lives such as pregnancie­s and debt, among other tactics.

Both men had been on bail during the trial but were immediatel­y taken into custody.

At the time in 2013, Lee was Samsung Electronic­s’ chief financial officer, and both men have been members of the now-disbanded Future Strategy Office, the firm’s key decision-making body.

The company issued a joint statement yesterday with constructi­on affiliate Samsung C&T — which has also had executives convicted of violating union laws — acknowledg­ing their errors.

“We humbly accept that the companies’ understand­ing and view towards labour unions in the past fell short of society’s expectatio­ns,” they said.

They pledged to ensure no repetition, adding: “We will endeavour to build a forward-looking and productive labourmana­gement relationsh­ip based on the respect for our employees.”

Lee had denied the charges but Samsung Electronic­s declined to comment on whether the men would appeal.

The Samsung Group’s founder Lee Byung-chul, who died in 1987, was adamantly opposed to unions, saying he would never allow them “until I have dirt over my eyes”.

But the ruling showed that Samsung’s long-running refusal to recognise unions was “antiquated” even in South Korea, said Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean Studies at the University of Oslo in Norway.

The court was telling Samsung to “get smarter, stop old-style union busting”, he said.

Samsung has played a key part in South Korea’s rise to become Asia’s fourth-biggest economy, but it is also the focus of resentment over the power and influence of the chaebols and has faced accusation­s of murky political connection­s.

Its vice-chairman Lee Jae-yong — scion of its controllin­g family — was convicted of bribery and embezzleme­nt and jailed in connection with the sprawling corruption scandal that brought down president Park Geunhye, before being largely cleared on appeal.

But he is back on trial again after the Supreme Court ordered new proceeding­s, and a guilty verdict could see him given a lengthy prison sentence, depriving the firm of its top decision-maker.

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