The first publicly known victim of the South Korean semiconductor industry was Hwang Yumi, who worked at Samsung Semiconductor and died on March 6, 2007 at age 22 of leukemia. On March 6, 2023, Hwang Yumi’s parents, friends, SHARPS colleagues, and members of Samsung Electronics’ first national trade union gathered for a memorial ceremony in the mountains of the eastern part of South Korea where her ashes are scattered.
Hwang Yumi’s death triggered awareness of the occupational health consequences of the chemically-intensive electronics industry and formed the basis of SHARPS’ ongoing campaign for justice and reformation of the industry.
However, Hwang Yumi’s death did not only draw attention to the electronics industry, but also the deeper issue of occupational diseases in South Korea. A prominent South Korean newspaper, Hankyoreh, ran an article on March 6th that outlined 574 sick people from all industries waiting for extended periods of time for epidemiological investigations to be conducted into their workers’ compensation claims. The paper called these people “Hwang Yumies.” Please see the English translation below and Korean original below that. A second article goes into the details of each of the 574 people. It was too much to translate, but this photo of the full layout in the paper can give you the flavor.
“As the number of chemicals handled in work sites increases and awareness toward carcinogens increases, sick workers who have been hiding are knocking on the door of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service.”
https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/1082247.html#ace04ou
Hankyoreh
6 March 2023
Endless Waiting for Workers’ Compensation of Occupational Diseases - 733 Years of “Hwang Yumies” to wait for Epidemiological Investigation
574 people fighting against time
Jang Pilsu
Hwang Yu-mi (23 years old at the time [Korean age]), who was diagnosed with acute leukemia while working at Samsung Electronics' semiconductor Giheung plant, passed away 16 years ago today (March 6). Her father, Hwang Sang-ki, asked the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service to recognize her case for workers’ compensation on behalf of his daughter in June 2007. In May 2009, after an epidemiological investigation, the government agency decided not to approve the compensation claim, saying, “The relevance to work is low.” Hwang headed to the court, won the first and second trials, and was recognized for his daughter's compensation claim in August 2014. The father's desperate “seven-year fight” after losing his daughter became a catalyst for raising awareness of occupational diseases.
1,349 people. The number of deaths from occupational diseases has steadily increased over the past five years. In in 2022, it was 1.54 times the number of deaths at work (874). The number of applicants for occupational disease workers’ compensation claims more than doubled from 12,975 in 2018 to 28,796 in 2022, and the approval rate for occupational disease claims was 59.6% and 62.7%, respectively. As the number of chemicals handled in work sites increases and awareness toward carcinogens increases, sick workers who have been hiding are knocking on the door of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service [a government agency]. However, the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service is unable to respond to increased demand due to a lack of epidemiological investigation personnel and lack of a system. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has introduced a “principle of presumption” that omits epidemiological investigations into specific industries and diseases such as semiconductors and displays, but the number of diseases and applications is small.
733 years. Hankyoreh obtained a list of epidemiological investigations “in progress” for more than 180 days from the Occupational Environment Research Institute of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service and the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute of Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. Epidemiological investigations check whether occupational diseases have occurred due to workplace environment and work hazards, and “180 days” is the deadline for “review and resolution of epidemiological investigation results” under the internal guidelines of the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute. As of January 31, 574 people had not received the results of epidemiological investigations for a total of 267,716 days (733.4 years).
Six years and eight months. The worker who has waited the longest for epidemiological investigations is a 43-year-old man. He suffers from cerebral parenchyma internal bleeding, an said in the claim that he was overworked, stressed, and exposed to electromagnetic waves due to the installation of electricity automation, but failed to get the results of the epidemiological investigation for 2419 days. In the meantime, he would have broken his bank account, spent his retirement funds, and asked his relatives for help. If the workers’ compensation claim is approved, he can receive vacation benefits (70% of the average wage) and nursing fees, but until the claim is approved, he can only rely on health insurance. A bill for treatment which is not covered by the national health insurance is more scary than endless chemotherapy.
Celebrating the 16th anniversary of the late Hwang Yu-mi, Hankyoreh investigated and analyzed the frequency of exposed substances, details of injury, personal information, and duration of “epidemiological investigations exceeding 180 days” of 574 people on the list. In Pohang, Ulsan, Yeongdeok, Daegu, Suwon, and Sejong, we met the second and third "Hwang Yu-mi and Hwang Sang-gi" and looked into their sick and anxious lives.
https://hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/1082247.html#ace04ou
The first publicly known victim of the South Korean semiconductor industry was Hwang Yumi, who worked at Samsung Semiconductor and died on March 6, 2007 at age 22 of leukemia. On March 6, 2023, Hwang Yumi’s parents, friends, SHARPS colleagues, and members of Samsung Electronics’ first national trade union gathered for a memorial ceremony in the mountains of the eastern part of South Korea where her ashes are scattered.
Hwang Yumi’s death triggered awareness of the occupational health consequences of the chemically-intensive electronics industry and formed the basis of SHARPS’ ongoing campaign for justice and reformation of the industry.
However, Hwang Yumi’s death did not only draw attention to the electronics industry, but also the deeper issue of occupational diseases in South Korea. A prominent South Korean newspaper, Hankyoreh, ran an article on March 6th that outlined 574 sick people from all industries waiting for extended periods of time for epidemiological investigations to be conducted into their workers’ compensation claims. The paper called these people “Hwang Yumies.” Please see the English translation below and Korean original below that. A second article goes into the details of each of the 574 people. It was too much to translate, but this photo of the full layout in the paper can give you the flavor.
“As the number of chemicals handled in work sites increases and awareness toward carcinogens increases, sick workers who have been hiding are knocking on the door of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service.”
https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/1082247.html#ace04ou
Hankyoreh
6 March 2023
Endless Waiting for Workers’ Compensation of Occupational Diseases - 733 Years of “Hwang Yumies” to wait for Epidemiological Investigation
574 people fighting against time
Jang Pilsu
Hwang Yu-mi (23 years old at the time [Korean age]), who was diagnosed with acute leukemia while working at Samsung Electronics' semiconductor Giheung plant, passed away 16 years ago today (March 6). Her father, Hwang Sang-ki, asked the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service to recognize her case for workers’ compensation on behalf of his daughter in June 2007. In May 2009, after an epidemiological investigation, the government agency decided not to approve the compensation claim, saying, “The relevance to work is low.” Hwang headed to the court, won the first and second trials, and was recognized for his daughter's compensation claim in August 2014. The father's desperate “seven-year fight” after losing his daughter became a catalyst for raising awareness of occupational diseases.
1,349 people. The number of deaths from occupational diseases has steadily increased over the past five years. In in 2022, it was 1.54 times the number of deaths at work (874). The number of applicants for occupational disease workers’ compensation claims more than doubled from 12,975 in 2018 to 28,796 in 2022, and the approval rate for occupational disease claims was 59.6% and 62.7%, respectively. As the number of chemicals handled in work sites increases and awareness toward carcinogens increases, sick workers who have been hiding are knocking on the door of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service [a government agency]. However, the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service is unable to respond to increased demand due to a lack of epidemiological investigation personnel and lack of a system. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has introduced a “principle of presumption” that omits epidemiological investigations into specific industries and diseases such as semiconductors and displays, but the number of diseases and applications is small.
733 years. Hankyoreh obtained a list of epidemiological investigations “in progress” for more than 180 days from the Occupational Environment Research Institute of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service and the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute of Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. Epidemiological investigations check whether occupational diseases have occurred due to workplace environment and work hazards, and “180 days” is the deadline for “review and resolution of epidemiological investigation results” under the internal guidelines of the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute. As of January 31, 574 people had not received the results of epidemiological investigations for a total of 267,716 days (733.4 years).
Six years and eight months. The worker who has waited the longest for epidemiological investigations is a 43-year-old man. He suffers from cerebral parenchyma internal bleeding, an said in the claim that he was overworked, stressed, and exposed to electromagnetic waves due to the installation of electricity automation, but failed to get the results of the epidemiological investigation for 2419 days. In the meantime, he would have broken his bank account, spent his retirement funds, and asked his relatives for help. If the workers’ compensation claim is approved, he can receive vacation benefits (70% of the average wage) and nursing fees, but until the claim is approved, he can only rely on health insurance. A bill for treatment which is not covered by the national health insurance is more scary than endless chemotherapy.
Celebrating the 16th anniversary of the late Hwang Yu-mi, Hankyoreh investigated and analyzed the frequency of exposed substances, details of injury, personal information, and duration of “epidemiological investigations exceeding 180 days” of 574 people on the list. In Pohang, Ulsan, Yeongdeok, Daegu, Suwon, and Sejong, we met the second and third "Hwang Yu-mi and Hwang Sang-gi" and looked into their sick and anxious lives.
https://hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/1082247.html#ace04ou