It was ruled that the autoimmune disease that occurred in a subcontractor who was working on maintaining and repairing scrubber (harmful gas purification equipment) equipment used in the Samsung semiconductor manufacturing process was an occupational disease.
It was confirmed on the 29th that Judge Sang-il Yoon of the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed by Mr. A (31) against the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service on the 17th to cancel the disapproval of medical treatment.
Mr. A worked for Unisem, a company that produces scrubbers, from July 2017 to May 2020 and was in charge of maintaining and repairing scrubber facilities at Samsung Electronics’ Hwaseong plant. He suffered symptoms such as dermatitis, hair loss, fainting, and delusions starting in January 2019, one year and six months after starting work, and was finally diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called ‘systemic lupus erythematosus’ in July 2020.
Mr. A said, “Due to the narrow work space, protective gear often came off while performing scrubber maintenance and repair work, so I was frequently exposed to hazardous chemicals, and the physical and mental stress accumulated, leading to the development of systemic lupus erythematosus.” I filed an industrial accident claim with the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service. The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service did not accept the application in September 2021, saying that the free silicic acid found during maintenance and repair work on scrubber facilities was confirmed to be in an amorphous form with low toxicity. Accordingly, Mr. A filed an administrative lawsuit against the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service.
The court ruled that the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service’s disapproval was unfair. The court said, “According to an epidemiological investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, free silicic acid was discovered during domestic research and maintenance work on scrubber equipment. “Although it is mostly amorphous, we cannot rule out the possibility that it contains crystalline free silicic acid,” he said. “Furthermore, even if it is an amorphous form with low toxicity, toxicity has been reported at high doses.” He continued, “To summarize, regardless of the amount of exposure to hazardous substances, it is difficult to deny that Mr. A was exposed to hazardous substances, considering the equipment, work methods, and work environment handled by Mr. A.”
The court also said, “According to occupational disease certificates for workers at other factories under Samsung Electronics, it is confirmed that workers in the semiconductor manufacturing process developed systemic lupus erythematosus.”
Mr. A said through ‘Semiconductor Workers’ Health and Human Rights Protector (Banollim)’, “The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service should not ignore the health of workers under the pretext of the special nature of the high-tech industry, but should provide social responsibility and a safety net.”
Attorney Jeong Il-ho of the law firm Seonseon, who represented Mr. A, said, “The first trial court pointed out that the opinion of the medical record evaluation agency that agreed with the NHIS decision was only based on the current level of knowledge and standards, and sought to determine the cause of the disease through medical and natural science. “If this is not the case, causality judgments should be made rationally based on empirical rules and social norms,” he said.
