Post 240 workers developing cancer and 80 of them dying, Samsung Electronics releases apology

Samsung Elctronics on Friday made an apology to the workers who developed cancer after working at its semiconductor factories in Suwon, south of Seoul. The company has finally apologised for the fault, "We sincerely apologise to the workers who suffered from illness and their families," said the firm's co-president Kim Ki-nam in a media report.

"We have failed to properly manage health risks at our semiconductor and LCD factories."

Samsung Electronics is one of the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturer and chipmakers and the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung Group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate the South's economy.

Its de facto leader Lee Jae-yong was found guilty of bribing former president Park Geun-hye as part of the corruption scandal that brought her down and spent almost a year in prison before most of his convictions were overturned on appeal and he was released.

Campaign groups say that about 240 people have suffered from work-related illnesses after working at Samsung semiconductor and display factories, with around 80 of them dying.

Under a deal announced earlier this month, Samsung Electronics will pay the group's employees compensation of up to 150 million won ($133,000) per case.

The scandal emerged in 2007 when former workers at its semiconductor and display factories in Suwon, south of Seoul, and their families said that staff had been diagnosed or died of various forms of cancer.