Samsung Electronics board chairman held for sabotaging union activities

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd board Chairman Lee Sang-hoon was sentenced to 1-1/2 years jail on Tuesday for sabotaging legitimate union activities, a South Korean court said.

Lee and about 25 other defendants were charged with sabotaging union activities by subcontracted workers at Samsung Electronics’ repair unit, Samsung Electronics Service Co Ltd.

When union activities took place at Samsung Electronics Service in 2013, Samsung Group’s now-defunct elite strategy office developed and implemented strategies to hinder the union’s operation, Seoul Central District Court ruled.

Samsung executives and employees were, to different degrees, involved in finding out sensitive information about union members to convince them to leave the union, inducing the closure of subcontracting firms with active unions and delaying negotiations between labour and management.