On March 31, 2010, Park Ji-yeon -- ayoung worker from Samsung’s Onyang semiconductor factory -- diedof leukemia at age 23. Her tragic death came less than one monthafter Samsung workers, their families, and community supportersparticipated in the 1st Memorial Week of occupational deaths ofsemiconductor workers to honor the memory of the many other workerswho gave their lives working at Samsung. There are now 23 documentedcases of Samsung workers who have suffered from blood cancers likeleukemia or lymphoma, and 9 workers among them have already died. Apetition to support the workers can be read and signed here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/s4m5ung/petition-sign.html

Another cancer death at Samsung butKorean government arrests OHS activists

On March 31, 2010, Park Ji-yeon -- ayoung worker from Samsung’s Onyang semiconductor factory -- diedof leukemia at age 23. Her tragic death came less than one monthafter Samsung workers, their families, and community supportersparticipated in the 1st Memorial Week of occupational deaths ofsemiconductor workers to honor the memory of the many other workerswho gave their lives working at Samsung. There are now 23 documentedcases of Samsung workers who have suffered from blood cancers likeleukemia or lymphoma, and 9 workers among them have already died. Apetition to support the workers can be read and signed here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/s4m5ung/petition-sign.html

We express our deepest sympathies andcondolences to the families of all who lost their lives after workingat Samsung. (Samsung is now one of the world’s most powerfulcorporations -- they enjoyed record sales of $120.48 billion in 2009, and now rank # 1 in flat screen TV sales and #2 in mobile phonesales globally).

We collectively grieve this tragic andunnecessary loss of life and express our outrage that occupationalcancers are a growing health crisis in the electronics industry. This problem is not confined to Samsung or Korea. This is anindustry-wide issue because the companies create unsafe workplacesthroughout the world, and unsafe conditions in the communities inwhich they operate. A series of recentinvestigations in the US, UK, Taiwan and elsewhere have highlightedan elevated cancer risk in workers in the semiconductor industry (formore information, see http://www.ehjournal.net/content/5/1/30  ).For far too long, electronics industry executives have continued todeny responsibility and have treated chemical exposure and theresulting cancer deaths as simply the cost of doing business. We say“Enough Is Enough!”

Instead of conducting a properinvestigation of the occupational nature of the deaths and adoptingadequate prevention measures, the Korean government supported Samsungand joined its efforts to silence the growing evidence of a cancercluster among electronics manufacturing workers at Samsung in Koreawho have been exposed to toxic chemicals. On 2nd April there was afuneral ceremony for Park Ji-yeon, followed by a press conference atSamsung headquarters in Seoul to demand accountability from Samsung. The press conference was broken up by the police who then arrestedseven of the activists who then shouted to Samsung “You areresponsible for the death of Ji-Yeon Park.” They were released 2days later without charges.

We condemn these actions by Samsung andthe Korean government and demand that:

• Samsung acknowledge its responsibility for the cancer deaths of its workers;

• The Korean government enforce its laws against Samsung for its actions rather than punish its workers and their supporters.

We call on Myung-bak Lee, President ofKorean Government; Gee-sung Choi, CEO of Samsung Electronics; Tae-heeYim, the Minister of Labor; Won-bae Kim, the President of COMWEL, theKorea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service; Min-ki Noh, CEOof KOSHA, – to do everything in their power to end this nightmareand apologize for the callous treatment of the courageousoccupational health activists who have brought these serious issuesto the attention of concerned people throughout the world.

We also call on our Brothers andSisters throughout the world to take actions to expose Samsung’sdisregard for their workers’ health and the Korean government’scomplicity in this tragedy.

To learn more, see the video fromSupporters of Health And Right of People in Semiconductor Industryat:

http://dotsub.com/view/6147f3b8-99fc-48c2-acbe-d95be38eddd1

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Endorsed by:

Supporters of Health And Right ofPeople in Semiconductors ( SHARPS)

Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC)

Asian Network for the Rights OfOccupational Accident Victims (ANROAV)

APROMAC (Environment ProtectionAssociation) Brazil

Ban Toxics, Philippines

Cancer Prevention - UK

Communications Workers of America,AFL-CIO

Communities Against Toxics

Chintan Environmental Research andAction Group (India)

Global Alliance for IncineratorAlternatives (GAIA)

Hazards Campaign - UK

International Metal Workers Federation(IMF)

International Campaign for ResponsibleTechnology

International POPS Elimination Network

Japan Occupational Safety and HealthResource Center (JOSHRC)

Labour Watch Taiwan (LWT)

Malaysian Trades Union Congress

Maquiladora Health and Safety SupportNetwork (USA)

Maquila SolidarityNetwork (Canada)

National Toxics Network (Australia)

New Solutions

Occupational andEnvironmental Health Network of India (OEHNI)

PHASE II (Scotland)

Taiwan Association for Victims ofOccupational Injuries (TAVOI)

TEAN (Taiwan)

TIE Asia

TOXISPHERA (Health EnvironmentalAssociation),  Brazil

United Electrical, Radio and MachineWorkers of America (UE)

Workers’ Assistance Center,Philippines

Worksafe (USA)