Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday it will support the treatment costs of workers at semiconductor and liquid crystal display manufacturing lines if diagnosed with cancer within three years of retirement.
The company said it will pay the patient’s treatment costs for 10 years and provide 100 million won ($93,309) in compensation if the person dies during the treatment process.
The announcement comes after a report of Environ, a U.S.-based independent agency, concluded that the firm’s semiconductor manufacturing lines were not responsible or directly linked to leukemia and related cancers diagnosed in former company workers. Studies were based on reconstructed work areas of Samsung’s semiconductor assembly lines in Giheung, Gyeonggi Province.
Samsung had promised to improve efforts to keep employees healthy, which is partly why the electronics giant released the support measures for retired assembly workers diagnosed with cancer on Tuesday.
“The measures were drafted to share the pain with those suffering from cancer following retirement as fellow workers although the working environment proved not to have relations to the cause of cancer,” said Samsung officials.
Those who retired later than Jan. 1, 2000 with at least a one-year employment experience can apply for the support system, according to Samsung officials. They also must prove they have been diagnosed with cancer within three years of retirement.
Experts will review the employment period, job description and the nature of the disease to decide whether the person is eligible to receive the support, said its officials.
By Cho Ji-hyun (
sharon@heraldcorp.com)
