“(I) offer a sincere apology to every person who
has been hurt by Samsung’s labor union issues,”
Lee said, without directly commenting on Kim or
his protest.
“From now on, (we) will ensure that there’s no
more talk about a ‘union-less Samsung,”’ he said.
Samsung will protect workers’ rights to organize,
bargain collectively and strike, he added.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, a
major umbrella labor group, questioned the
sincerity of Lee’s comments and urged Samsung
to reinstate and compensate Kim and other
employees who were fired for unionizing.
Samsung launched the review of its business
practices after a Seoul High Court judge
overseeing Lee’s bribery case faulted the
company for he saw as a murky management
culture. He said the company should set up an
oversight system to monitor its management.
Lee was sentenced to five years in prison in 2017
for offering 8.6 billion won ($7 million) in bribes
to Park and her longtime confidant Choi Soon-sil
while seeking government support for a merger
of two Samsung affiliates. It went ahead despite
opposition from some shareholders and helped
cement Lee’s control over Samsung Electronics,
the crown jewel of the family’s corporate empire.
Lee was freed in February 2018 after the
Seoul High Court reduced his term to 2 ½
years and suspended his sentence, overturning
key convictions.