Allegations have been raised that labor unions belonging to the Samsung Electronics (005930) Joint Struggle Headquarters created a "blacklist" by using employees' personal information without authorization to identify union membership, prompting the company to take legal action. If the illegal activities are confirmed through police investigation, union members who led the blacklist effort are expected to face criminal prosecution.
According to industry sources on the 13th, Samsung Electronics filed a criminal complaint with the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on the 9th of this month against the Samsung Electronics labor union for violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.
On the 10th, the company announced through an internal notice that it "confirmed that a list containing department names, names, employee numbers, and union membership status of dozens of people was shared in a group messenger chat room of a specific department." Samsung Electronics plans to determine through police investigation whether illegal activities occurred involving unauthorized use of employee personal information to identify non-union members.
The company suspects that some union members exploited the "employee number duplicate check" function on the union sign-up website to verify whether specific employees were members, then distributed lists of non-members containing department names, names, and employee numbers. Union membership status is classified as sensitive information reflecting personal beliefs. Collecting personal information, creating lists, and distributing them without the consent of the individuals involved can result in criminal prosecution under the Personal Information Protection Act, the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. Violations of the Personal Information Protection Act carry penalties of up to 5 years imprisonment or fines up to 50 million won, while defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act carries up to 3 years imprisonment or fines up to 30 million won.
The impact could be even greater if this blacklist was created under the direction of union leadership, as it would constitute an organizational violation of human rights using personal information. In fact, Choi Seung-ho, chairman of the Samsung Electronics branch of the Samsung Group enterprise-wide labor union, stated during a YouTube broadcast in early March that he would "manage lists of those who don't participate in strikes and work for the company," suggesting they would be prioritized for review in cases of forced transfers or layoffs.
Legal experts view that the act of identifying specific individuals and creating lists itself could be seen as infringing on the freedom to participate in industrial action guaranteed by the Constitution. One labor law attorney pointed out, "This is essentially coercing strike participation by applying psychological pressure to non-participants and signaling actual disadvantages."
Meanwhile, the Samsung Electronics union reportedly demanded that 15% of operating profit be used as a bonus fund. After declaring a halt to negotiations at the end of last month, the union will hold a rally at the Pyeongtaek campus on the 23rd of this month. If negotiations are not resolved afterward, they plan to conduct a general strike from May 21 to June 7. If the strike materializes, operating losses are estimated to reach approximately 10 trillion won.
