Up to 700,000 Won per Month Provided for Pyeongtaek Employees
Suspicions of Rental Contract Manipulation to Meet Eligibility
Samsung Electronics has launched an investigation into allegations that some employees in its semiconductor (Device Solutions, or DS) division unjustly received housing allowance benefits.
Samsung Seocho Building. Yonhap News Agency.
On September 8, multiple posts appeared on Blind, an anonymous community for office workers, claiming that certain DS division employees working at the Pyeongtaek plant were called in for interviews with their team leaders because they had submitted rental contracts to the company that did not match the actual rental terms in order to qualify for housing support.
Since 2022, the DS division of Samsung Electronics has provided housing stipends to employees at the Pyeongtaek facility who live far from their family home and therefore face challenges commuting, or who need to secure separate housing due to shift work. The program offers up to 700,000 won per month in rent support to employees living in officetels, one-room, or 1.5-room apartments under 33 square meters (about 10 pyeong).
However, suspicions have surfaced that some employees actually reside in units over 33 square meters or in two-room apartments, but misreported the size or type of their residence on the lease agreements submitted to the company, thereby receiving benefits for which they were not eligible. In response, Samsung Electronics has begun verifying the facts behind these claims.
Further allegations have emerged that some employees included ineligible expenses, such as part of their maintenance fees, into the rent amount when applying for support, or that so-called “dual contracts” were made by preparing one lease agreement reflecting the real rental terms and a different contract for submission to the company.
Anonymous Community for Office Workers, Blind.
It is reported that more than 100 employees are currently under investigation. Samsung Electronics is said to be carefully comparing the application documents of the benefit recipients with their actual rental agreements and conducting interviews to ascertain the details.
As the controversy spreads, online communities have been flooded with posts expressing concerns about possible disciplinary action and resignations, such as “Hundreds of people in our company are about to lose their jobs,” and “I heard from my team leader today. I’m in my third year and terrified of leaving.”
One netizen, who identified themselves as a Samsung Electronics employee, posted on an anonymous community that a real estate agent had first proposed ways to alter the lease agreement to fit the company’s eligibility criteria, and shared concerns about the consequences after the interview with management.
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Viewers of the post responded that even if the real estate agent had initiated the changes, employees who submitted documents containing false information to the company and received benefits would still be held accountable for their actions.
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