Seoul court recognizes occupational disease of Samsung Electronics worker 16 years later

Posted on : 2020-09-16 18:32 KST Modified on : 2020-09-16 18:32 KST
Semiconductor worker contracted Devic’s disease while handling dangerous chemicals
Members of the watchdog group Banollim hold a press conference in front of the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service to call for industrial accident recognition for employees of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)
Members of the watchdog group Banollim hold a press conference in front of the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service to call for industrial accident recognition for employees of Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)

An employee of Samsung Electronics who contracted a rare disease while working at one of the company’s semiconductor factories finally received government confirmation of suffering from an occupational disease, nearly 16 years after leaving the company.

Hon. Son Seong-hui, a judge with the Seoul Administrative Court, ruled in favor of “A,” who had petitioned the court to force the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service (KCOMWEL) to cover medical expenses. The employee contracted Devic’s disease, a disorder of the spine and eyes, while working at a Samsung semiconductor factory.

A came down with acute transverse myelitis in 2004, seven years after being hired at Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor factory in Giheung in 1997, and was ultimately diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica, also known as Devic’s disease. In this rare disease, inflammation of the spinal cord and optic nerves causes eyesight to deteriorate.

A, who was working on a three-shift rotation, was responsible for washing semiconductor wafers (the substrate of integrated circuits) in a tank of sulfuric acid and replacing the chemicals in the tank. A quit in 2005 and then asked KCOMWEL to recognize the medical condition as an occupational disease in 2017. But KCOMWEL refused on the grounds that A hadn’t established a causal relationship between the job and the medical condition.

In a lawsuit filed with the administrative court, A argued that his immune system had been weakened by his work on a rotating shift and continued exposure to harmful chemicals, which either caused or aggravated the disease. The court concluded that A’s argument couldn’t be denied, even if a definite causal relationship couldn’t be established.

“Considering that we’re becoming more aware of the problems with harmful chemicals and improving our management of work environments, the extent of A’s exposure to harmful chemicals during his time on the job was probably more severe than what has been found in related studies,” the court said.

The court also ruled that A’s irregular sleeping schedule, caused by his rotating shifts and overtime, could conceivably have weakened his immunity, causing the disease or accelerating its progress.

“The purpose of the industrial accident compensation and insurance system is for industry and society as a whole to share this burden. In light of that purpose, the protocol for recognizing occupational diseases shouldn’t be stacked against workers, who already face the disadvantage of having to demonstrate [that their disease resulted from their work environment],” the court added.

“The court’s ruling suggests that various factors that could affect the incidence of disease ought to be taken into account when assessing causality, even for rare diseases, when there may be hardly any research into pathogenesis. This ruling is also a declaration that we need to rectify our current approach, which cruelly makes workers responsible for demonstrating [causality],” said Cho Seung-gyu, a full-time activist for Banollim, a watchdog group that advocates rights for semiconductor workers.

By Joh Yun-yeong, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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