Samsung Electronics' largest union spends W20m on petition drive seeking leniency for indicted chief

The Samsung Group's cross-enterprise labor union, Samsung Electronics' largest union, has launched a large-scale online petition drive seeking leniency for its chairman, Choi Seung-ho, who has been referred to prosecutors.

According to Insight, union Secretary-General Lee Tae-gyu posted a message on the company's internal bulletin board Wednesday asking members to sign a petition on behalf of Choi and the union's operations director.

The union plans to spend 20 million won ($14,800) to collect 30,000 signatures through an online petition calling for leniency. The decision was made at a standing executive committee meeting held Tuesday, according to meeting minutes.

The move comes in direct response to a rival union, Samsung Electronics Labor Union Donghaeng, which had gathered roughly 15,000 signatures on a petition calling for harsh punishment of Choi and other union officials. The cross-enterprise union's meeting minutes cited the need to counter "Donghaeng's 15,000-signature petition for severe punishment" as the driving reason behind the campaign, aiming to collect twice as many signatures.

The cross-enterprise union also alleged in its meeting minutes that Donghaeng's petition contained false information related to a blacklist case, and said it had confirmed that signatories were offered gifts in exchange for their participation.

The union cited Article 14 of its bylaws — a job security provision — as the legal basis for using union funds. The clause allows the union to protect members and compensate them for any personal or financial disadvantage suffered while carrying out decisions of a governing body or legitimate union activities.

Choi and others were referred to prosecutors this month on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act. They are accused of using personal data belonging to Samsung Electronics employees to compile a list that included information on union membership, around March of this year.

Samsung Electronics filed a complaint with police in April after discovering that an Excel file containing employees' names, phone numbers, employee identification numbers and union membership status had been shared in a group chat for a specific department.

Police conducted three search-and-seizure operations before referring Choi and a senior union official identified only by the surname A to prosecutors.

The conflict between the two unions intensified during wage negotiations in May. The cross-enterprise union draws most of its members from the Device Solutions division, which handles the semiconductor business, while Donghaeng is centered on members from the Device Experience division, which covers home appliances and mobile products.

The two sides have been in open conflict since Donghaeng broke away from a joint bargaining committee over a dispute about performance bonuses.