April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] LG Chem, the nation’s top chemicals and battery maker, on July 25 apologized for wiretapping union leaders who were participating in the ongoing wage talks at its production plant in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.

The union said they found a concealed microphone in a staff lounge at the plant where some union leaders were chatting while taking a break between marathon talks with the management on July 20. 

The union claimed the wiretapping seems to have been rampant, urging the company to apologize and punish those who are responsible.

“We will ask judicial authorities to thoroughly investigate the case and will disclose the findings transparently,” the company said in a statement. “We will make sure that whoever is responsible gets proper punishment.”

LG Chem has been engaged in few labor conflicts over the past 10 years. But the situation has changed since the company’s merger with its biopharmaceutical sister firm LG Life Science in January.

Sources say the management and union are struggling to reach a consensus in combining different labor issues in the merged entity.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)