Tragic Incident
A methanol poisoning accident at a second-tier partner of a Samsung Electronics plant in Vietnam killed one person and injured about 30 others.
While Vietnamese authorities are investigating whether a local supplier delivered fake ethanol mixed with a large amount of methanol to the partner, Samsung Electronics is getting some negativity, as some civic groups have blamed the Korean tech giant in connection with the mishap.
Korean civic groups such as Banolim condemned Samsung Electronics over the methanol poisoning accident in Vietnam in a press conference held in front of the Seocho office building of Samsung Electronics in the Gangnam district of Seoul on March 29.
A mobile phone parts company, a second-tier partner of Samsung Electronics’ factory in Vietnam, recently received what was labeled as ethanol, but was actually made up of 70 methanol, from a local company in Vietnam. As a result, about 30 employees of the mobile phone parts company were hospitalized and one of them died.
Civic groups are demanding an apology and countermeasures, saying that Samsung Electronics is also responsible as it has to manage and supervise the partner company.
However, Samsung Electronics has clarified that it is unfair to say that Samsung is responsible for the case as the mobile phone parts company is not a first-tier partner that it has direct management responsibility for, but a second-tier partner, and the second-tier partner was tricked into receiving the fake ethanol.