Samsung apologises to employees for exposure to chemicals which may have caused cancer

TECH giant Samsung has apologised to staff who say they suffered cancer as a result of chemical exposure in its chip factories. So far, 73 people have died.

(FILES)In this January 10, 2013 file photo consumers check products at Samsung booth at the 2013 International CES at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. South Korea's Samsung remained at the top of the rapidly growing smartphone market in early 2014 as Chinese rivals gained ground, a survey showed April 30, 2014. The overall global smartphone market grew 28.6 percent from a year ago with 218.8 million units sold, according to the IDC survey. That was down 2.8 percent from the fourth quarter, with a seasonal impact on sales. Samsung had a 30.2 percent market share, compared with 31.9 percent a year earlier. Apple remained the number two global vendor at 15.5 percent, which was down from 17.1 percent one year earlier. Chinese firm Huawei held third place with a 4.7 percent global share, with year-over-year sales growth of 47 percent. AFP PHOTO / JOE KLAMAR / FILES

SOUTH Korean technology giant Samsung has apologised to employees who say they suffered cancer as a result of chemical exposure in its chip factories.

The world's largest producer of memory chips and mobile phones promised to pay compensation to survivors and relatives, marking an abrupt shift in Samsung's stance on the years-long movement to hold the company to account.

However, a Samsung spokesman said the apology was not an admission of a link between the chemicals used in its chip factories and cancer and other diseases that in many cases led to employee deaths.

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Kwon Oh-hyun apologised and promised compensation to chip factory workers who suffered cancers linked to chemical exposure.

“We could have been more diligent in addressing the hardship and sorrow of former employees and the families of the deceased,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the workers support group, Supporters for the Health And Rights of People in the Semiconductor industry (SHARPS), there have been 193 cases of illness among Samsung employees and those of its subsidiaries, of which 73 died.

Of this number, 146 worked at Samsung Electronics, 57 of whom died as a result.

The news comes several weeks after opposition politician Sim San Jeung, SHARPS and the families of victims urged Samsung to come up with measures to help its workers and prevent such cases in future. Samsung announced that “in accordance to the proposal, all parties will discuss the set up of an impartial independent mediating group”, which, among other things, will determine the amount of compensation.

Originally published as Samsung apologises to employees for exposure to chemicals which may have caused cancer