Nineteen workers and bereaved family members of workers who contracted incurable diseases such as leukemia during their service in electronics companies filed for industrial accident compensation on Oct. 28. The civic organization of Banolim, which represents semiconductor manufacturing workers, held a press conference and received their application forms that day in front of the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service building located in Seoul.
The 19 applicants are divided into nine from Samsung Semiconductor, three from Samsung LCD, two from Samsung Electro-Mechanics, one from the IT and Mobile Division of Samsung Electronics, two from LG Display, one from Seoul Semiconductor, and one from SK Hynix. A total of 62 such applications have been filed via the organization since June 2007.
“What we are trying to do is let people know that employees in the electronics and semiconductor industries are under a serious threat,” an organization representative said at the press conference, adding, “We call for the government to do its utmost to prevent such accidents and compensate those who are suffering for their pain.”
According to the organization, the main cause of their ailments is being exposed in their working environments to carcinogens such as benzene, formaldehyde, epoxy, and radiation. Eight of them have hematological cancer or a similar disease. The others are suffering from brain tumors, breast cancer, acute renal failure, or other unusual ailments.
In the meantime, 37 other former Samsung Electronics employees announced last month that they supported the civic group’s request for talks with the electronics manufacturer. The 37 persons include 27 who have filed suits against Samsung over the past seven years for their occupational diseases.