Amid an incident at Samsung Biologics where personnel information of executives and employees was exposed to some staff members, CEO John Rim met directly with the labor union to address the situation. While the company emphasized its willingness to resolve the issue through dialogue, differences in perception between management and the union remain, drawing attention to the upcoming negotiation process.
According to Samsung Biologics and the labor union on November 12, the meeting took place the previous afternoon at the suggestion of company management. The company stated that it sincerely listened to the union branch’s demands during the meeting. However, as the union presented multiple demands at once, the company proposed to address them sequentially through ongoing discussions.
Previously, at Samsung Biologics, confidential information regarding employee evaluations and promotions, as well as some personal data, was exposed in a way that allowed employees without proper authorization to access it. During the process of transferring files from an existing shared folder to a new one, not only personnel documents but also information related to the working conditions of union members became accessible via the company’s internal network.
Some employees and union officials confirmed the exposure, and the company also became aware of the potential leak on November 6. The union reported the incident first to the Personal Information Protection Commission on November 9, and the company filed its own report with the commission on the same day based on its own assessment.
The two sides have shown differing interpretations regarding the information exposure. In an apology letter to employees on November 10, CEO John Rim stated, “I take full responsibility for the exposure of employees’ personal information,” but also pointed out that some employees’ actions in sharing personnel and management information externally could constitute a violation of the law. In contrast, the union argued, “The exposed materials contained personnel policies that were difficult to understand,” and asserted, “Transferring the data to a union PC for review cannot be considered a leak.”
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