hankyoreh

Nov. 1. (by Kim Jeong-hyo

By Im In-tack and Lee Hyung-seob, staff reporters

A four-year employee at a service center working for Samsung Electronics Service committed suicide on Oct. 31, leaving a note saying he found it “too difficult.”

Samsung could be responsible for the death. There is growing conflict among workers since companies and their subcontractors began ratcheting up oversight - and discriminatory treatment - of members in a labor union that was formed last June amid a controversy over the illegal employment of dispatch workers.

In a statement on Nov. 1, the Korean Metal Workers’ Union said the victim, 32-year-old Choi Jong-beom, had been subjected to “cursing and severely insulting language” by his boss in connection with a customer complaint.

The union also said Choi suffered “a heavy psychological burden from being targeted for investigation and pressure from Samsung because of his union activities.”

Transcripts of a telephone conversation made public by Choi in September showed the president of his company, Cheonan Service Center, verbally abusing him last July because of a voice-of-customer (VOC) complaint to Samsung Electronics Service.

The customer was reportedly upset because Choi had been rude during a repair visit.

According to the transcripts, the president, identified by the surname Lee, began the tirade by saying, “Did you get us a VOC today?”

After calling Choi an abusive name, Lee went on to say, “If the customer’s saying something, you’ve got to burn it up. You’ve got to get your knife and rip that thing to shreds. If you want to get a customer, you’ve got to grab him like you would a dog.”

“Tomorrow we’ve got to go to the boss on our needs. Feel like coming?” Lee continued.

Choi went on to give his side of the story.

“I’ll tell you exactly what happened today,” Choi is quoted as saying. “I can work with the customer’s attitude, but this was someone who had made up his mind from the beginning to be unhappy.”

Lee was unappeased.

Choi subsequently apologized, but also asked, “Why are you so afraid of VOCs?”

Lee used more abusive language and said, “You’ve got to grab him. You’ve got to shut him up. And if you really can’t do anything, you’ve got to follow him. That’s what a man does.”

Samsung is known to have South Korea’s most advanced systems for subcontractor management. In addition to calling customers from the call enter in its main offices for six months after the service completion date to inquire about satisfaction with its subcontractors’ work, it also collects additional VOC information through various channels. It also calculates customer dissatisfaction rates and complaint occurrence rates, using them as standards for subcontractor incentives and penalties.

This means the pressure gets more intense going down the ladder from Samsung SVC to the subcontracting company’s president and its workers.

The labor union’s establishment in particular has prompted Samsung to turn the screws harder: threats to shut down subcontractors, attempts to convince members to quit the union, and monitoring of union members. Samsung SVC and Cheonan Service Center began investigations last month on eight of the center’s 90 repair workers, singling out the union members - including Choi.

On the evening of Oct. 30, the day before his suicide, Choi left a message on a social networking chat room.

“It’s been so hard for me working for Samsung SVC,” he wrote. “I’ve been desperately hungry, and everyone’s struggling so hard that it’s been tough to watch.”

“Maybe I can’t do what Jeon Tae-il did, but I’ve made my decision,” he continued, referring to a worker who famously committed suicide by self-immolation in 1970 and is credited for starting South Korea’s labor movement.

Samsung SVC expressed its condolences to Choi’s family, wishing for him to “rest in peace.”

Samsung also disclosed a letter, purportedly sent by Lee, in which he reported that Choi had received an average pay of 4.1 million won (US$3,890) a month between January and September of this year, and about 5.05 million won (US$4,750) in the past three months. He did not comment on the investigation or abusive language.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]