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전동수 (삼성 홈페이지) |
지난 5월 2일 발생한 삼성의 화성 반도체 공장 불산 노출 사고에 대해 삼성 측에서 “기본적으로 사고의 성격이 다르다”고 밝혔다.
삼성 측 관계자는 9일 본지와의 인터뷰에서 과거와 달리 누출 사건에 대해 아직 공식적인 사과문이 없다는 지적에 대해 “최근에 발생한 사고에 대해서는 (예전의 사고와) 기본적으로 성격이 다르지 않느냐”고 말했다.
이 관계자는 또한 삼성이 책임을 피하고 있다는 주장과 관련해 사과문이 없다고 해서 삼성이 책임을 피했다고 볼 수는 없다고 강조했다. 연합뉴스에서는 7일, 고용노동부 관계자를 인용해 삼성이 5월 사고와 관련해 “원청업체의 책임이 없다고 주장했다”고 보도했다.
고용노동부 측은 연합뉴스 보도에 대해 별도의 언급을 피했다.
지난 2일, 화성의 삼성 반도체 공장에서 불산이 누출되는 사고가 발생해 직원 3명이 부상했다. 이 공장에서 누출사고가 일어난 것은 올해 들어 이번이 두 번째로 지난 1월에 발생한 사고 당시에는 1명이 숨지고 4명이 다쳤다.
삼성 측은 1월 사건에 대해서는 공식적으로 사과문을 발표했다.
한편 삼성전자 전동수 메모리사업 사장이 불산사고와 관련해 8일 자신이 한 발언이 논란이 되자 9일 공식적으로 사과했다. 전 사장은 지난 8일, 기자들이 불산 누출 사고가 두번이나 발생한 것에 대한 의견을 묻자 “저는 돈이나 벌어야죠”라고 한 것으로 알려졌다. (코리아헤럴드 윤민식)
<관련 영문 기사>
Samsung executive apologizes for gaffe
Samsung says 2nd gas leak ‘basically different’ from first deadly accident
An executive of Samsung Electronics Co. apologized on Thursday for his “careless” comments about a recent gas leak at the company’s chip factory.
Jun Dong-soo, who heads the memory division of Samsung’s semiconductor business, reportedly told reporters that he “just has to make money” when asked about the hydrofluoric acid gas leak at the company’s chip plant last week.
“I sincerely apologize for causing a fuss by making careless comments,” Jun said via a public letter of apology he posted on the company’s official blog. “I had meant that since environment and safety experts have been deployed (on the leak site), I will do the best on my part to keep the business going strong.”
He said that he fully recognized his responsibility for his actions, saying that he understood how the remarks could have caused misunderstanding.
The toxic gas leak took place last Thursday at Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor plant in Hwaseong, 60 kilometers from Seoul, injuring three people. The accident marked the second poisonous gas leak at the factory in three months.
The first gas leak in January killed one person and injured four. The accident forced Samsung Electronics to issue a formal apology.
The government on Tuesday said Samsung Electronics was partly liable for the May 2 leak. Yonhap News, quoting the Ministry of Labor and Employment, reported Tuesday that the company had originally denied responsibility for the latest gas leak accident. Samsung reportedly said that its subcontractor STI Service had not completely removed the hydrofluoric acid, which Samsung said caused the accident.
Samsung Electronics’ PR team neither confirmed nor denied the report but said that the company was not ducking responsibility. A Samsung official said in an interview with The Korea Herald that just because the company did not issue an official apology for the second gas leak did not mean the company was denying liability. The second accident was “basically different in nature from (the first accident),” he said.
The Labor Ministry declined to confirm Samsung’s reported attempt to deny responsibility for the second gas leak, and said the investigation was still ongoing in a telephone interview.
By Yoon Min-sik
(
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
