Advertisement

Updated May 29th, 2020 at 19:59 IST

Fired Samsung worker ends tower protest following apology

A former Samsung employee who spent nearly a year protesting his firing by living atop a 25-meter (82-foot) traffic camera tower in South Korea’s capital was helped back down Friday after the business giant apologized over his plight.

Fired Samsung worker ends tower protest following apology
| Image:self
Advertisement

A former Samsung employee who spent nearly a year protesting his firing by living atop a 25-meter (82-foot) traffic camera tower in South Korea’s capital was helped back down Friday after the business giant apologized over his plight.

Kim Yong-hee, 60, waved a banner with a Samsung logo and a protest slogan while a rescue worker on a fire-truck ladder escorted him down from his perch along a street near a Samsung Electronics office in Seoul.

Kim was fired from the company in 1995 over what he says were his attempts to organize a labor union.

Kim's decision to end his aerial protest after 354 days came weeks after billionaire Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, currently on trial over corruption charges, vowed to end decades of union-busting practices at the group.

In its apology, Samsung said it should have done more to ease Kim’s “pain and agony,” which it said was caused by “conflicts with the company amid the process of his labor movements following his dismissal.” The company did not clearly acknowledge Kim’s claim that he lost his job at Samsung’s now-defunct aerospace unit because he tried to start a union.

Activists representing Kim said in a statement that Kim sees Samsung’s apology as redeeming his honor.

Neither Kim nor Samsung disclosed the details of their discussions and whether he would be financially compensated or reinstated the company.

Advertisement

Published May 29th, 2020 at 19:59 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar
a few seconds ago
Baltimore bridge collapse
a few seconds ago
Secret weddings
11 minutes ago
Tata Steel
17 minutes ago
Alaya
21 minutes ago
Penn Badgley
28 minutes ago
Astrology
35 minutes ago
World's oldest mountains
37 minutes ago
Samantha Ruth Prabhu
39 minutes ago
Hanuma Vihari
40 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo