[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] The Supreme Court has ruled partially in favor of the plaintiff in an information disclosure lawsuit requesting the release of work environment reports from Samsung Electronics' semiconductor production plant in Giheung.
The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Park Sang-ok) announced on the 19th that it upheld the appellate court's partial ruling in favor of the plaintiff in the final appeal of the lawsuit filed by 'Banolim,' an organization protecting the health and human rights of semiconductor workers, against the Central Administrative Appeals Commission's decision to cancel the information disclosure order.
Banolim requested the labor authorities in 2018 to disclose work environment reports from Samsung Electronics' Giheung plant and others from 1994 to 2015 to prove industrial accidents such as leukemia and lymphoma suffered by employees at Samsung affiliates' factories.
In response, the Ministry of Employment and Labor decided to disclose the reports, but Samsung contested the decision, claiming the report contents were trade secrets, and filed an administrative appeal with the Central Administrative Appeals Commission.
The Central Administrative Appeals Commission accepted Samsung's claims and decided to withhold disclosure of items such as the targeted process for measurement, department or process name, usage purpose, monthly handling volume, and unit work location.
Banolim then filed a lawsuit requesting the cancellation of the Central Administrative Appeals Commission's decision.
In the first trial, the court sided with the Central Administrative Appeals Commission, but the second trial ruled that disclosure of some items such as 'targeted process for measurement,' 'department or process,' and 'unit work location' would not compromise confidentiality and ordered disclosure.
Both Banolim and Samsung Electronics appealed, but the Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's judgment as correct.
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