Photojournalist Shin Woong-jae | Another Family

Hong Se-mi suffers from a tonic seizure on her bed in Hyundai Asan Hospital in Seoul, South Korea on Sep. 28, 2013. A tonic seizure due to multiple sclerosis attacks her quite often and it last for two hours at least. Hong Se-mi worked at Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory from 2003 to 2005. She mainly worked in photo line and cleaning line. She had diagnosed with a multiple sclerosis in 2008. Unspecified chemicals which were used in semiconductor factory are suspected as the cause of her illness. She has fought against the disease alone even without any help from her disconnected family. Also, to get a compensation from the company, she is still in litigation with Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service, COMWEL, over her disease.

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Hong Se-mi suffers from a tonic seizure on her bed in Hyundai Asan Hospital in Seoul, South Korea on Sep. 28, 2013. A tonic seizure due to multiple sclerosis attacks her quite often and it last for two hours at least. Hong Se-mi worked at Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory from 2003 to 2005. She mainly worked in photo line and cleaning line. She had diagnosed with a multiple sclerosis in 2008. Unspecified chemicals which were used in semiconductor factory are suspected as the cause of her illness. She has fought against the disease alone even without any help from her disconnected family. Also, to get a compensation from the company, she is still in litigation with Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service, COMWEL, over her disease.

Hong Se-mi tries to ease a pain on her eyes in Green Hospital in Seoul, South Korea on Sep. 25, 2013.

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Hong Se-mi tries to ease a pain on her eyes in Green Hospital in Seoul, South Korea on Sep. 25, 2013.

Hong Sae-mi's friends stretch and massage Sae-mi's hands and arms to ease her pain by a tonic seizure in Hyundai Asan Hospital in Seoul, South Korea on Oct. 13, 2013.

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Hong Sae-mi's friends stretch and massage Sae-mi's hands and arms to ease her pain by a tonic seizure in Hyundai Asan Hospital in Seoul, South Korea on Oct. 13, 2013.

Hong Se-mi sits alone on her bed in her government leased apartment in Anyang, South Korea on Oct. 25, 2013.

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Hong Se-mi sits alone on her bed in her government leased apartment in Anyang, South Korea on Oct. 25, 2013.

A polaroid picture of Park Min-sook at her working place at 3 bay in Samsung semiconductor factory is seen on a table at her home in Yangpyung, South Korea on Nov. 12, 2013. The picture was taken by Min-sook's colleague on Dec. 7, 1995. Park Min-sook was diagnosed of breast cancer, underwent surgery and is in the convalescent stage.

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A polaroid picture of Park Min-sook at her working place at 3 bay in Samsung semiconductor factory is seen on a table at her home in Yangpyung, South Korea on Nov. 12, 2013. The picture was taken by Min-sook's colleague on Dec. 7, 1995. Park Min-sook was diagnosed of breast cancer, underwent surgery and is in the convalescent stage.

Samsung Electronics S-Line semiconductor factory is seen at Samsung Giheung Campus in Giheung, South Korea on Mar. 17, 2014.

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Samsung Electronics S-Line semiconductor factory is seen at Samsung Giheung Campus in Giheung, South Korea on Mar. 17, 2014.

Portraits of the late victims are seen on the table in front of Samsung headquarter building in Seoul, South Korea on Mar. 6, 2013. The victims who worked in Samsung Electronics semiconductor factories died of critical disease like cancer, leukemia and brain tumor. Victims' families believe that the disease are caused by toxic chemicals in the factories.

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Portraits of the late victims are seen on the table in front of Samsung headquarter building in Seoul, South Korea on Mar. 6, 2013. The victims who worked in Samsung Electronics semiconductor factories died of critical disease like cancer, leukemia and brain tumor. Victims' families believe that the disease are caused by toxic chemicals in the factories.

Members of Banolim, an activist group who supports victims of Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory, hand over leaflets to pedestrians in front of Samsung headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on Mar. 6, 2014. Members are wearing dust proof coveralls and masks which are used in semiconductor factory lines. A picture of Hwang Sang-ki is shown on a board panel. Hwang Sang-ki is the very person who started struggle against Samsung Electronics on his daughter's death and draw peoples attention to the issue. Hwang Yu-mi, his daughter, worked at Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory from 2003 to 2005. She died of leukemia in 2007.

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Members of Banolim, an activist group who supports victims of Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory, hand over leaflets to pedestrians in front of Samsung headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on Mar. 6, 2014. Members are wearing dust proof coveralls and masks which are used in semiconductor factory lines. A picture of Hwang Sang-ki is shown on a board panel. Hwang Sang-ki is the very person who started struggle against Samsung Electronics on his daughter's death and draw peoples attention to the issue. Hwang Yu-mi, his daughter, worked at Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory from 2003 to 2005. She died of leukemia in 2007.

Victims' family and members of unofficial Samsung labour union hold protest in front of the Shilla hotel which belongs to Samsung group in Seoul, South Korea on Oct. 28, 2013. On this day, Samsung group had an executives dinner party at the hotel to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Declaration of 'Shin Gyungyoung(New Management)' by Lee Kun-hee, the head of the Samsung group. Lee Kun-hee also attended the dinner party.

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Victims' family and members of unofficial Samsung labour union hold protest in front of the Shilla hotel which belongs to Samsung group in Seoul, South Korea on Oct. 28, 2013. On this day, Samsung group had an executives dinner party at the hotel to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Declaration of 'Shin Gyungyoung(New Management)' by Lee Kun-hee, the head of the Samsung group. Lee Kun-hee also attended the dinner party.

Kim Mi-seon stands and holds a grip in a subway on her way to barista training center for the blind on Oct. 21, 2013 in Seoul, South Korea. Mi-seon worked at Samsung Electronics LCD factory in 1997, and had diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000. She also got a visual impairment as a side effect of her disease.

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Kim Mi-seon stands and holds a grip in a subway on her way to barista training center for the blind on Oct. 21, 2013 in Seoul, South Korea. Mi-seon worked at Samsung Electronics LCD factory in 1997, and had diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000. She also got a visual impairment as a side effect of her disease.

Kim Song-hee stands in front of Samsung SDI factory in Ulsan, South Korea on Nov. 4, 2013. Kim Song-hee worked at Samsung SDI in Ulsan, South Korea from 1991 to 2004. He was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2009.

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Kim Song-hee stands in front of Samsung SDI factory in Ulsan, South Korea on Nov. 4, 2013. Kim Song-hee worked at Samsung SDI in Ulsan, South Korea from 1991 to 2004. He was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2009.

A portrait of Park Hyung-jip holding a picture of his late son Park Jin-hyuk in Ulsan, South Korea on Nov. 5, 2013. Park Jin-hyuk, only one son of Park Hyung-jip, died of leukemia on November 2005. He worked at Samsung SDI factory in Ulsan, South Korea in 2004.

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A portrait of Park Hyung-jip holding a picture of his late son Park Jin-hyuk in Ulsan, South Korea on Nov. 5, 2013. Park Jin-hyuk, only one son of Park Hyung-jip, died of leukemia on November 2005. He worked at Samsung SDI factory in Ulsan, South Korea in 2004.

A portrait of Chung Hee-su holding a picture of his late wife, Lee Yoon-Jung in Bucheon, South Korea on Nov. 7, 2013. Lee Yoon-jung worked at Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory in South Korea for from 1997 to 2003. She died of brain tumor in 2012.

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A portrait of Chung Hee-su holding a picture of his late wife, Lee Yoon-Jung in Bucheon, South Korea on Nov. 7, 2013. Lee Yoon-jung worked at Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory in South Korea for from 1997 to 2003. She died of brain tumor in 2012.

Hwang Sang-ki holds the picture of his late daughter, Hwang Yu-mee in Sokcho, South Korea on Apr. 11, 2014. Hwang Sang-kee is the very person who started struggle against Samsung Electronics on his daughter's death and draw peoples attention to the issue. Hwang Yu-mee, his daughter, worked at Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory from 2003 to 2005. She died of leukemia in 2007.

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Hwang Sang-ki holds the picture of his late daughter, Hwang Yu-mee in Sokcho, South Korea on Apr. 11, 2014. Hwang Sang-kee is the very person who started struggle against Samsung Electronics on his daughter's death and draw peoples attention to the issue. Hwang Yu-mee, his daughter, worked at Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory from 2003 to 2005. She died of leukemia in 2007.

Kim Song-hee demonstrates one man picketing on cherry blossom trees street in front of Samsung SDI factory in Ulsan, South Korea on Apr. 4, 2013. Kim Song-hee worked at Samsung SDI in Ulsan, South Korea from 1991 to 2004. He was diagnosed with nasopharyngea cancer in 2009.

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Kim Song-hee demonstrates one man picketing on cherry blossom trees street in front of Samsung SDI factory in Ulsan, South Korea on Apr. 4, 2013. Kim Song-hee worked at Samsung SDI in Ulsan, South Korea from 1991 to 2004. He was diagnosed with nasopharyngea cancer in 2009.

Kim Shi-nyeo kisses on Han Hae-kyung, her daughter's cheek on a bed at their home in Chuncheon, Gang-won province, South Korea on Oct. 31, 2013.

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Kim Shi-nyeo kisses on Han Hae-kyung, her daughter's cheek on a bed at their home in Chuncheon, Gang-won province, South Korea on Oct. 31, 2013.

The Semiconductor. It's the backbone of the digital era. CPU in PC, memory chip in cell phone and even display unit in TV, semiconductors invisibly sustain our daily lives from inside these devices. Yet we lack knowledge about the semiconductor in terms of a manufacturing process that results in enormous human cost and sacrifice.

On January 25th 2013, Samsung Electronics, the world largest semiconductor manufacturer reported a record high $187.9 billion in revenue along with $22.25 billion in operating profit. Beneath the shadow of these impressive figures, however, there are people who suffer from incurable diseases. They are semiconductor workers from Samsung Electronics in South Korea. According to Banolim, a social activist group that has been supporting these workers since 2007, 265 former workers of Samsung Electronics have informed the group of their terminal diseases which include cancer, leukemia, and brain tumors. So far 104 of them have died. Most of these victims have never doubted that their diseases are work related. Several years ago, in fact, a number of victims began to investigate the cause of their illnesses and realized that the diseases are closely related to the chemicals they handled at the factory. From then on, victims’ struggle against Samsung began.

As the affray related to these issues continues, victims have to deal with not only the company but another hostile organization, COMWEL, Korean Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service. Because a labour union for Samsung workers is disallowed by corporate fiat, these victims have to apply to COMWEL for proper compensation from the company. However, this government agency, which is supposed to protect laborers and provide them with legal services, accuses the victims for lacking prosecutorial evidence and summarily rejects their requests. This situation leads victims to institute lawsuits against COMWEL, but they have to fight against COMWEL, which is supported by Samsung’s legal team. The indifference of the general public together with bias media bias victims amid the turmoil.

© 2017 Shin Woong-jae