[SHARPS Statement]
Behind the Semiconductor Boom: Countless Illnesses and Deaths
Samsung must distribute its profits justly and take measures to prevent illness and death.
Calls from pro-business media outlets, experts, and business groups demanding that the government invoke emergency arbitration against the strike by Samsung Electronics workers are growing louder. It is deeply concerning that remarks seemingly supporting such intervention have now extended from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy to the Prime Minister. The right to strike is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. The International Labour Organization (ILO) clearly limits state intervention in strikes to situations involving an immediate threat to the life, safety, or health of the public.
The greater the concern over economic damage caused by the strike, the more responsibility Samsung management has to resolve the situation through dialogue. Samsung management, which has long fostered distrust through its anti-union practices and insincere bargaining, must now engage in negotiations in good faith. The government should clearly state that there will be no emergency arbitration and create conditions for serious dialogue between labor and management at Samsung Electronics.
Behind the AI-driven semiconductor boom have been countless illnesses and deaths among workers. According to a government epidemiological investigation in 2019, 3,442 workers at six semiconductor companies, including Samsung Electronics, developed cancer, and 1,178 of them died. Half of these cases occurred at Samsung. Even after the investigation, illnesses and deaths have continued without stopping.
The problem is not limited to diseases caused by chemical exposure. In March last year, the late Kim Chi-yeop, a new researcher assigned to HBM development work, died by suicide. He suffered from severe performance pressure, depression, and sleep disorders, and his request for medical leave was denied despite his courage in seeking help. According to a health survey conducted in 2023 by SHARPS together with the National Samsung Electronics Union, depression and sleep disorders among Samsung Electronics workers were found to be at a very serious level. In particular, suicidal ideation was seven times higher and suicide attempts ten times higher than in the general population. Behind these conditions are excessive workloads caused by understaffing, intense performance pressure, and evaluation systems that reinforce such conditions. Fundamental measures, including increasing staffing levels, are urgently needed to protect the mental health of Samsung Electronics workers.
Moreover, the risks in semiconductor factories are increasingly shifting to lower and less visible places. The most dangerous tasks — including supplying toxic chemicals and maintaining and repairing facilities — are largely performed by subcontracted workers. One out of every four workers at Samsung Electronics belongs to an in-house subcontracting company. These workers perform the most dangerous jobs while receiving the lowest compensation and facing the greatest job insecurity.
Workers at outside subcontracting companies that supply materials, parts, and equipment to Samsung, construct factories, or provide various services are in no better situation. Last year alone, workers died from poisoning while manufacturing materials supplied to Samsung and from falls while constructing Samsung semiconductor plants. A worker who developed lung cancer while handling Samsung semiconductor waste is suffering from debt because they cannot afford monthly medical expenses amounting to millions of won.
Without workers at Samsung Electronics’ in-house and outside subcontractors, semiconductor production would not be possible. Yet these workers are completely excluded from the distribution of excess profits generated by the semiconductor boom. Subcontracted workers also deserve a share of these profits. Samsung must share its gains not only with regular employees but also with subcontracted workers. It must also share profits with workers in non-semiconductor divisions who are currently excluded from discussions on performance-based compensation.
Above all, profits should be shared with workers who developed occupational diseases while producing semiconductors. The compensation and support system established through the 2018 agreement between SHARPS and Samsung Electronics excludes many victims through narrow eligibility standards. The criteria — including recognized diseases, periods of onset, and application deadlines — must be revised to reflect reality so that more victims can receive protection. The system should also be expanded to include workers employed by outside subcontractors of Samsung Electronics. Even with such expansion, the actual costs required would not be very large.
Now, while Samsung is earning enormous profits, is precisely the time to invest in preventing occupational diseases. Samsung Electronics’ chemical restriction and prohibition system has seen no meaningful improvement since 2019. The list of banned and regulated hazardous chemicals must be expanded. The system must also be extended beyond first-tier suppliers to second- and third-tier suppliers. Investments must be made to improve the poor working conditions in these workplaces. Measures to prevent chemical-related harm throughout the entire semiconductor supply chain must be strengthened further.
The current debate over bonus distribution must go beyond negotiations between Samsung Electronics management and the regular workers’ union. Workers in Samsung Electronics’ non-semiconductor divisions, subcontracted workers, local residents who have borne environmental damage, communities harmed by electricity generation for semiconductor factories, and citizens marginalized by government policies that concentrated administrative and financial support on semiconductor corporations — all of these people deserve a share of the excess profits generated by the semiconductor industry.
Samsung must distribute its profits justly.
Samsung must take measures to prevent illness and death.
May 17, 2026
SHARPS (Supporters for the Health and Rights of People in the Semiconductor Industry)
[SHARPS Statement]
Behind the Semiconductor Boom: Countless Illnesses and Deaths
Samsung must distribute its profits justly and take measures to prevent illness and death.
Calls from pro-business media outlets, experts, and business groups demanding that the government invoke emergency arbitration against the strike by Samsung Electronics workers are growing louder. It is deeply concerning that remarks seemingly supporting such intervention have now extended from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy to the Prime Minister. The right to strike is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. The International Labour Organization (ILO) clearly limits state intervention in strikes to situations involving an immediate threat to the life, safety, or health of the public.
The greater the concern over economic damage caused by the strike, the more responsibility Samsung management has to resolve the situation through dialogue. Samsung management, which has long fostered distrust through its anti-union practices and insincere bargaining, must now engage in negotiations in good faith. The government should clearly state that there will be no emergency arbitration and create conditions for serious dialogue between labor and management at Samsung Electronics.
Behind the AI-driven semiconductor boom have been countless illnesses and deaths among workers. According to a government epidemiological investigation in 2019, 3,442 workers at six semiconductor companies, including Samsung Electronics, developed cancer, and 1,178 of them died. Half of these cases occurred at Samsung. Even after the investigation, illnesses and deaths have continued without stopping.
The problem is not limited to diseases caused by chemical exposure. In March last year, the late Kim Chi-yeop, a new researcher assigned to HBM development work, died by suicide. He suffered from severe performance pressure, depression, and sleep disorders, and his request for medical leave was denied despite his courage in seeking help. According to a health survey conducted in 2023 by SHARPS together with the National Samsung Electronics Union, depression and sleep disorders among Samsung Electronics workers were found to be at a very serious level. In particular, suicidal ideation was seven times higher and suicide attempts ten times higher than in the general population. Behind these conditions are excessive workloads caused by understaffing, intense performance pressure, and evaluation systems that reinforce such conditions. Fundamental measures, including increasing staffing levels, are urgently needed to protect the mental health of Samsung Electronics workers.
Moreover, the risks in semiconductor factories are increasingly shifting to lower and less visible places. The most dangerous tasks — including supplying toxic chemicals and maintaining and repairing facilities — are largely performed by subcontracted workers. One out of every four workers at Samsung Electronics belongs to an in-house subcontracting company. These workers perform the most dangerous jobs while receiving the lowest compensation and facing the greatest job insecurity.
Workers at outside subcontracting companies that supply materials, parts, and equipment to Samsung, construct factories, or provide various services are in no better situation. Last year alone, workers died from poisoning while manufacturing materials supplied to Samsung and from falls while constructing Samsung semiconductor plants. A worker who developed lung cancer while handling Samsung semiconductor waste is suffering from debt because they cannot afford monthly medical expenses amounting to millions of won.
Without workers at Samsung Electronics’ in-house and outside subcontractors, semiconductor production would not be possible. Yet these workers are completely excluded from the distribution of excess profits generated by the semiconductor boom. Subcontracted workers also deserve a share of these profits. Samsung must share its gains not only with regular employees but also with subcontracted workers. It must also share profits with workers in non-semiconductor divisions who are currently excluded from discussions on performance-based compensation.
Above all, profits should be shared with workers who developed occupational diseases while producing semiconductors. The compensation and support system established through the 2018 agreement between SHARPS and Samsung Electronics excludes many victims through narrow eligibility standards. The criteria — including recognized diseases, periods of onset, and application deadlines — must be revised to reflect reality so that more victims can receive protection. The system should also be expanded to include workers employed by outside subcontractors of Samsung Electronics. Even with such expansion, the actual costs required would not be very large.
Now, while Samsung is earning enormous profits, is precisely the time to invest in preventing occupational diseases. Samsung Electronics’ chemical restriction and prohibition system has seen no meaningful improvement since 2019. The list of banned and regulated hazardous chemicals must be expanded. The system must also be extended beyond first-tier suppliers to second- and third-tier suppliers. Investments must be made to improve the poor working conditions in these workplaces. Measures to prevent chemical-related harm throughout the entire semiconductor supply chain must be strengthened further.
The current debate over bonus distribution must go beyond negotiations between Samsung Electronics management and the regular workers’ union. Workers in Samsung Electronics’ non-semiconductor divisions, subcontracted workers, local residents who have borne environmental damage, communities harmed by electricity generation for semiconductor factories, and citizens marginalized by government policies that concentrated administrative and financial support on semiconductor corporations — all of these people deserve a share of the excess profits generated by the semiconductor industry.
Samsung must distribute its profits justly.
Samsung must take measures to prevent illness and death.
May 17, 2026
SHARPS (Supporters for the Health and Rights of People in the Semiconductor Industry)