This article was published on March 19, 2025, at 1:36 p.m. on the ChosunBiz RM Report site.
Samsung Electronics' Hwaseong plant has been fined 7 million won for violating the reporting obligations for industrial accidents, according to reports on the 19th. There were fatalities or injuries requiring more than three days of leave due to the industrial accident, and employers can face fines of up to 15 million won if they do not report to the authorities within a month.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor reportedly fined Samsung Electronics' Hwaseong plant around the end of November last year. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official said, "The fines imposed on the Hwaseong plant were based on information received regarding violations of industrial accident reporting obligations, which led to the inspection that uncovered the issue." The official noted, "I cannot confirm the specific details of the industrial accident that is subject to the fines," adding, "However, it is unrelated to the chemical accident that occurred at the Hwaseong plant in June last year."
Previously, the nationwide Samsung Electronics labor union raised suspicions that the company tried to downplay the incident by using the term "neutralized condensate" instead of "chemical materials" on the industrial accident investigation forms submitted to the Ministry of Employment and Labor for reporting the industrial accident that occurred in June last year.
Samsung Electronics has previously been found to have violated the law over 40 times, including concealing industrial accidents and failing to report them, at its Gwangju plant in 2020. Concealment of industrial accidents refers to actively hiding the occurrence of an industrial accident, such as by falsifying work records to make it appear as if the affected worker worked normally. As a result, concealment of industrial accidents carries harsher penalties than merely failing to report. While only fines are imposed for failure to report, concealment of industrial accidents can lead to criminal penalties of up to one year in prison or fines of up to 10 million won. It is reported that a fine of 25 million won has been finalized for the concealment of industrial accidents at the Gwangju plant.