A former Samsung Electronics executive director A, who is suspected of planning a plot to collapse and break up the labor union, was arrested on August 6th.
The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for suspect A during questioning, saying, “There is evidence on most of the facts, but given his status and role, there is a fear of evidence being destroyed.”
This is the first time that a Samsung Electronics executive has been arrested since the prosecution began investigating suspicions against Samsung Electronics Service plot to break up the labor union.
The Seoul Central District Public Prosecutors Office asked for an arrest warrant against suspect A on charges of violating the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act.
According to the prosecution, suspect A worked as the executive officer of the Samsung Electronics HR Support Team and Samsung Group Future Strategy Office from July 2013 through December 2015, and is accused for directing ‘Green work’, the plot to break up the labor union.
The prosecution has pointed out suspect A as the key figure in charge of various plots to collapse the labor union, including a planned shutdown of Samsung Electronics’ service reginal service center, a withdrawal from the union, obstruction of reemployment and illegal inspections.
The prosecution also obtained a statement that suspect A participated in a labor union countermeasure meeting with Mr. Song, who was a policy advisor to the minister of labor and also a member of the advisory committee on labor affairs at Samsung Electronics.
Suspect A is also accused of leading police officer Kim, who has long been in charge of the labor trends, to intervene in Samsung Electronics Service labor management negotiation process, leading to favorable negotiation results. Moreover, the police officer was payed 53,696 dollars for the intervention.
Based on the results of the investigation against suspect A, the prosecution is reportedly planning to expand the investigation into the company’s top executives, including Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Sang-hoon, who served as the managing director of Samsung Electronics at the time of the labor union’s establishment.
