Samsung Ignores Human Rights Violations Outlined by Its Whistleblower

My dog bit you and hurt you, but it wasn’t my fault.

Despite a damning series of revelations,¹ Samsung failed to respond to a recent inquiry from the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) about “long-standing and widespread mismanagement of toxic chemicals and environmental violations” revealed by a Samsung whistleblower and described in our press release and reporting below. BHRRC also asked the company to respond to the tragic methanol poisoning at one of Samsung’s suppliers in Vietnam. In their response, Samsung used step four of the 4 Dog Defense: “My dog bit you and hurt you, but it wasn’t my fault.” In this step, the company admits that exposure to a toxic substance such as methanol caused harm, but tries to shift the blame away from itself.

CGFED, SHARPS, and IPEN wrote to BHRRC to outline Samsung’s human rights violations revealed by the company’s whistleblower and describe how lax management resulted in the recent methanol poisoning (please see letter below). The Samsung whistleblower is a former manager of environmental health and safety at Samsung Vietnam and his testimony is highly relevant to Samsung’s current operations at its overseas factories and suppliers. 

1: Global Samsung's Dangerous Factory #1: A Safety Manager's Confession

  2: Global Samsung’s Dangerous Factory #2: The Secret of 7 Years of Stench

  3: Global Samsung’s Dangerous Factory #3: Evolving Risk

  4: Global Samsung’s Dangerous Factory #4: Risk Transferred

5: Global Samsung’s Dangerous Factory #5: A Hole in 'Samsung Management'

6: Samsung knowingly exposed workers to highly toxic chemicals, whistleblower claims

  7: Báo Hàn Quốc nói Samsung VN dùng hoá chất cấm, báo trong nước im lặng