Prosecutors have sought prison terms for executives of Samsung Electronics who were put on trial for leading the collapse of the labor union of Samsung Electronics Service.
The prosecution demanded four years in prison for Lee Sang-hoon, chairman of Samsung Electronics' board of directors, and K, Samsung Electronics vice president at a final trial of Seoul Central District Court on Nov. 5.
It also asked M, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics, and C, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics Service, to be sentenced to four years in prison, while former police officer K, who helped them in return for receiving bribes, will be sentenced to seven years in prison and fined 150 million won.
"The Constitution actively guarantees basic labor rights and bans any violation of the order of fair labor-management relations by designating labor-management relations as one of the basic rights," the prosecution said. "So Samsung should not ban the formation of labor unions, but it did unfair labor practices to disrupt labor unions."
"This case is an organized crime that focuses on the company's overall capabilities, and has utilized a variety of intelligent and diverse ways of breakdown that will cause enormous damage, such as planning and closing, targeted audits, and discriminatory treatment of union members," it said. "Considering that this case conducted by a global conglomerate called Samsung has a significant impact on our corporate culture and labor relations."
"We must take into account the attitude of the defendants who do not reflect on their actions without reflecting on their actions, and the attitude of some defendants who pass the buck to others," the prosecution said. "We earnestly ask them to make a stern judicial judgment to prevent the recurrence of such anti-constitutional and organized union destruction crimes."
Lee and other Samsung officials who were tried on the same day were put on trial on charges of planning the so-called "green" strategy, a plot to break up the Samsung Electronics Service union, under the leadership of the personnel support team at the Future Strategy Office.
They reportedly set up a comprehensive situation room and set up and operated a rapid response team in June 2013, when the move to establish a labor union for Samsung Electronics Service began in earnest.
According to the prosecution, they are suspected of interfering with the closure of business partners and reemployment of union members in the process, including discrimination and individual meetings under the guise of "psychological management," which led to the withdrawal from labor union, and the reduction of wages for the reason of cooperative activities.
It is also suspected of mobilizing a labor consulting firm specializing in labor union destruction and intelligence police as well as the father of the late Yeom Ho-suk, who killed himself in protest against the union's crackdown, for illegal activities.
