Police Refer Six Samsung Electronics Employees to Prosecutors Over Union Blacklist and Data Leak

Six Samsung Electronics employees have been referred to prosecutors over allegations that they used colleagues’ personal information to identify union members and compiled or shared the data.

The Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station in Gyeonggi province said the six were sent to prosecutors without detention on suspicion of violating the Personal Information Protection Act. Four were identified as users of unusual access points to Samsung’s internal systems. One allegedly collected large amounts of employee information through the company’s security system, while another allegedly received the data.

The case began in March after allegations emerged that an unidentified employee had used colleagues’ personal information to create a so-called blacklist containing their union membership status. Samsung detected signs of unauthorized searches and bulk collection of personal information and filed a complaint with police in April.

During the investigation, police searched servers at Samsung’s Giheung campus and identified the four users linked to unusual IP addresses. Investigators said they had used other employees’ information to check union membership without authorization. Police also found indications that one employee collected the information in bulk and that another received it.

Samsung and its labor union agreed in May to withdraw the complaint after settling wage negotiations. The investigation nevertheless continued because violations of the Personal Information Protection Act are offenses that authorities can prosecute without a victim’s complaint and despite the victim’s opposition. A police official said authorities would continue to investigate unauthorized use or leakage of personal information strictly.

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We will continue to investigate strictly any acts involving the use or leakage of personal information without legitimate authority.