An independent ombudsman committee has been set up to ensure workplace safety at Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor and display factories, the committee said Thursday.
The Samsung Ombudsman Committee is led by Lee Cheol-soo, the committee chief and a law professor at Seoul National University, Im Hyun-sool, a medical professor at Dongkuk University, and Kim Hyun-wook, a medical professor at Catholic University.
“We have formed a panel consisting of the best experts in the field of safety and welfare at workplaces,” Lee, the professor, said.
“We will put our priority on fairness and professionalism.”
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Lee Cheol-soo, the chief of the ombudsman committee for Samsung Electronics’ chip-making facilities and a law professor at Seoul National University. Samsung Ombudsman Committee |
The panel also includes 10 other academics and health care experts who will not just monitor workplace safety but also recommend to Samsung concrete action plans, including the handling of sensitive chemical agents.
It has been planned that they will work for three years and can extend the term for another three years.
The panel launch is part of an agreement between Samsung and a group of former workers who contracted fatal diseases, including leukemia, while working at Samsung factories.
In August last year, a three-party mediation committee, consisting of Samsung, a group of victims and their families and an advocacy group Banolim agreed to a fund worth 100 billion won ($85.8 million) for compensation.
Banolim has claimed that some 200 former workers had fallen ill after working at the company’s chip and display factories.
The agreement also included Samsung’s apology and its efforts to prevent diseases at its manufacturing plants.
The compensation process started in September. Kwon Oh-hyun, one of the company’s three CEOs and head of its chip business division, sent a letter of apology to individual victims and their families.
By Kim Young-won (
wone0102@heraldcorp.com)
