The leadership of Samsung Electronics' largest labor union, under prosecution investigation for allegedly viewing employees' personal data without authorization to compile a "union blacklist," is collecting signatures from its own members in a petition seeking leniency for itself. The move has drawn criticism as a "self-serving leniency" campaign, as union leaders ask members to sign on their behalf and commit tens of millions of won from union coffers to the effort.
The Samsung chapter of the Samsung Group Cross-Company Labor Union, the largest union at Samsung Electronics, held a standing executive committee meeting a day earlier and approved a motion to proceed with a leniency petition for chapter chairman Choi Seung-ho and others, according to industry sources on the 16th. The union began collecting electronic signatures from members the same day. It is targeting about 30,000 signatures and has budgeted roughly 20 million won ($14,000) for fees payable to an online electronic signature provider.
The union says an organized response is needed because 15,000 members of a rival union, the Samsung Electronics Labor Union Donghaeng, submitted a petition containing false claims that called for harsh punishment over the blacklist allegations.
Choi and five other union executives were recently referred to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Personal Information Protection Act. They are accused of viewing personal data including department names, employee names and identification numbers without authorization while compiling a blacklist tracking whether employees had joined a union. After the case was referred to prosecutors, Donghaeng gathered signatures on a petition calling for severe punishment.
The Cross-Company Labor Union draws its membership mainly from the semiconductor division, while Donghaeng is based primarily in the finished-products division, and the two have clashed over issues including gaps in performance bonuses. Donghaeng said it plans to hold a rally on the 18th near the Hannam-dong residence of Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee in Seoul's Yongsan district.
