Samsung VP gets jail term for attempting to break up labor union

A Seoul court handed a jail term to a Samsung executive on Friday for attempting to break up a labor union at Everland, an amusement park run by the country's biggest conglomerate.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the Samsung Electronics Co. vice president, Kang Kyung-hoon, to 1 year and four months in prison for obstruction of business and breaching labor union-related laws.

 

Kang was not taken into custody so he can lodge an appeal.

The court also sentenced a former Everland executive to 10 months in jail pending an appeal, while 10 other current and former Everland employees were given suspended jail sentences.

Samsung employees have denied any collective efforts to obstruct labor activities and accused the prosecution of being overly zealous in pressing charges for which statutes of limitations have expired.

Friday's ruling is the first since a document dubbed the "S Group labor strategy" first surfaced in 2013, raising allegations the conglomerate deliberately targeted labor unions.

Kang was charged with obstructing labor union activities at Everland from June 2011 to March 2018 based on the group's labor management scheme.

He is also suspected of illegally collecting the personal information of labor union members and their families as well as putting them under surveillance.

Kang faces another trial next week on allegations of attempting to break up another union representing service workers at Samsung Electronics. (Yonhap)