hankyoreh

Family and supporters of Hwang Yu-mi, a worker in Samsung’s semiconductor plant who died of leukemia in 2007 at the age of 23, marched from the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art in the Yongsan district of Seoul to the site of a sit-in being held by the workers’ rights group Bannolim in front of the Samsung Electronics building in Seoul’s Seocho district. Hwang was the first Samsung worker to die as a result of being sickened with a chronic illness following her employment in the semiconductor factory.

At the far right is Hwang’s father, Hwang Sang-gi, who has played a leading role in pushing for leukemia and other chronic diseases suffered by Samsung semiconductor factory workers to be classified as industrial accidents. Following him are marchers holding placards commemorating other deceased Samsung workers. The marchers criticized the company for trying to settle the matter on a private, individual basis rather than negotiating with Bannolim and offering a public apology to the victims and guaranteeing workers’ rights.