Samsung Electronics to create fund for cancer-stricken workers, safety

Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co
Ltd said on Monday it will create a 100 billion won ($
85.8 million) fund to compensate cancer-stricken
workers and their families, and for efforts to prevention
such diseases at its chip and display factories.
Samsung said in a statement the fund will make
payments to workers or families of those who became
sick while working at its plants, including contractors.
The fund would also pay for research, development of
experts and other methods to improve worker safety.
South Korean activist group Sharps, which represents
many of the cancer-stricken workers, said on Monday it
was aware of around 200 workers who had fallen ill after
working at a Samsung plant. About 70 of them have
passed away, according to the organization, which
declined comment on Samsung's fund plan.
The proposal comes after negotiations between the
South Korean firm, workers and their families as well as
outside experts over the company's responsibility for
the workers, who have attributed illnesses such as
lymphoma and leukemia to prolonged exposure to
radiation or dangerous chemicals used in Samsung's
factories.
Samsung issued a public apology in May 2014 to
affected workers and their families, marking a turning
point in a dispute that has lasted nearly a decade.