A view of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency. Provided by the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency

Police investigating allegations that a so-called ‘blacklist’ listing whether employees had joined the labor union was created inside Samsung Electronics have carried out additional searches and seizures targeting individuals connected to the case.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency stated at a regular press briefing on the 1st that it conducted a third round of searches and seizures on the 28-29 of last month in connection with the alleged Samsung Electronics union blacklist. Police had previously searched the Samsung Electronics Giheung site on the 8th of last month and, on the 18th of last month, the company that manages its in-house messenger.

In this third round, police secured computers and other items from four users of IP addresses with abnormal access records and from one person involved in leaking the personal information of other employees. However, whether these individuals are union members and the amount of personal information leaked have not been disclosed. Once analysis of the seized materials is complete, police plan to summon the search targets for questioning.

On the 20th of last month, labor and management at Samsung Electronics reached a tentative wage agreement and agreed to withdraw various complaints related to the blacklist allegations. However, because this case is not an offense that requires a victim complaint, the investigation proceeds in principle even if the two sides have reached a settlement.

On April 9, Samsung Electronics filed a complaint with police stating that there were allegations that someone had used employee personal information to compile a blacklist indicating union membership status. A week later, it submitted an additional complaint alleging that a specific employee had collected the personal information of other employees in large quantities without authorization and provided it to a third party.

A police official said, “In the case of the four users of IPs with abnormal access records, they are currently in witness status, but depending on the course of the investigation they may be converted to suspect status.”