Samsung
Partly verified✓ Checks its own supply chain. Samsung actively looks for problems such as child or forced labour, publishes what it finds and works to fix it. That openness is uncommon, so problems it finds and reports itself are shown below but don't count against its grade.
Samsung raises serious concerns: there are documented abuses of workers, and workers in Vietnam, India and Indonesia are very unlikely to earn a living wage. The Seoul Central District Court jailed Samsung Electronics' board chairman and convicted about 25 others for sabotaging union activity among subcontracted workers at Samsung Electronics Service (Seoul Central District Court, 2019).
Last researched 7 October 2026
Not doing enough. Workers in the supply chain are likely underpaid, unprotected or in danger, and in the worst cases face forced or child labour. Look for a better-graded alternative. What this grade means
Good: 3 of 5
- Pays a living wage
- Respects worker rights
- Full supply chain audit, or made only in countries with rigorous labour standards
- No child or forced labour findings
- Publishes where its products are made (supplier list, named farms or its own factories)
Great: 0 of 3
- Pays beyond a living wage
- Finds and fixes problems, or invests directly in workers' communities
- Actively empowers workers
Needs all Good requirements plus two of these.
Red flags: 2
- Does not pay a living wage
- Clear breaches of labour conditions
- Hazardous raw materials without traceability (means Poor)
Where it's made
| Country | Worker rights | Legal wages | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam 50% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| India 30% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | High |
| South Korea 15% | Regular violations | Slightly below a living wage | Low |
| Indonesia 5% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Country conditions from the ITUC Global Rights Index, Global Slavery Index and living wage benchmarks. Certifications and audits can raise a company above its countries' baseline.
Why this grade
- Cobalt, tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold mining carry child and forced labour risk (DR Congo, Indonesia), and assembly overtime is widespread. (partly offset by certification or direct sourcing)
- Responsible Business Alliance: Electronics industry code with third-party audits. Members set their own pace.
- Conflict-free minerals programme: Responsible sourcing for tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold or cobalt.
- Publishes supplier list
- Modern slavery statement
- Owns or runs its own production
- Uses high-risk raw materials (e.g. leather tanning, mica, artisanal gold)
- Relies on metals such as cobalt, gold and tin from artisanal mines where miners, including children, face toxic dust, mercury exposure and deadly tunnel collapses. It can't trace these materials to the mine, so it can't be graded above Poor.
Samsung makes most of its products in its own factories, mainly in Vietnam, India and Korea, and publishes a list of suppliers covering 80% of its spending. It publishes full lists of its cobalt smelters and mica processors and requires certified smelters, but does not report mine-level tracing or recycled cobalt figures, and acknowledges child labour risks in mica. It long opposed unions, apologised for this in 2020 and now bargains with unions in Korea, but it ranked first in the 2025 KnowTheChain benchmark with gaps on purchasing practices and union engagement, and makes no living wage commitment.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| KnowTheChain | Found | Ranked first of 45 companies with 61/100 in the 2025 KnowTheChain ICT benchmark, up from 5th in 2022. View ↗ |
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Found | Scored 36.2/100 in the 2022 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. View ↗ |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Found | Samsung Electronics Australia publishes annual modern slavery statements under the Australian Act. View ↗ |
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Found | Samsung Electronics UK publishes statements under the UK Modern Slavery Act. View ↗ |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Found | Materials and products Samsung uses appear on the US DOL list: cobalt from the DRC, mica from India and electronics from China and Malaysia. View ↗ |
| US forced-labour import bans (UFLPA Entity List, CBP Withhold Release Orders) | Not listed | Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDI do not appear on the UFLPA Entity List. View ↗ |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Found | Records allegations about Samsung's Vietnam factories (2024) and a Malaysian supplier (2016), with Samsung responses. View ↗ |
Confirmed issues
Problems confirmed by a court, regulator, completed investigation or the company itself. Issues more than 15 years old, or 10–15 years old where the company made amends, are removed. Problems a company finds and publishes itself, and is fixing, are shown but don't count against it.
| When | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Samsung refused to recognise a union at its Chennai plant during a month-long 2024 strike, objected to the union using the Samsung name, and the union was registered only in January 2025 after the Madras High Court ordered a decision; Samsung then suspended three union officials (The News Minute, 2025). | No Suspended three union officials after the union was registered. |
| 2025 | Samsung's own third-party supplier audits found 35 major working-hour violations and 5 wage violations in 2025, while covering only 8.4% of direct supplier facilities (Samsung Audit and Corrective Action Reports, 2025). | Not known |
| 2025 | Samsung reported finding migrant workers who had paid recruitment fees during 2025 supplier audits and reimbursed US$960 to two workers (Samsung Electronics Australia Modern Slavery Statement, 2025). Found and being fixed by the company Not counted against the grade, because the company found and published it itself. | Yes Reimbursed recruitment fees to affected workers. |
| 2024 | South Korea's Nuclear Safety and Security Commission found Samsung broke safety rules when workers were exposed to radiation at its Giheung chip plant and fined the company (Bloomberg, 2024). | Not known |
| 2018 | The Seoul Central District Court jailed Samsung Electronics' board chairman and convicted about 25 others for sabotaging union activity among subcontracted workers at Samsung Electronics Service (Seoul Central District Court, 2019). | Partly In 2018 Samsung agreed to hire about 8,000 subcontracted service workers directly. |
| 2018 | Samsung apologised and agreed to compensate workers who developed cancers and other illnesses at its chip and display plants, with about 320 cases and 118 deaths reported by campaign groups (Al Jazeera, 2018). | Yes Apologised and agreed to compensate affected workers in 2018. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- A former Samsung health and safety manager reported poor chemical management at Samsung's Vietnam factories from 2012 to 2021, with workers fainting and suffering miscarriages; Samsung published a response defending its practices (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2024). Source ↗
- KnowTheChain recorded two unresolved allegations linking Samsung's supply chain to Uyghur forced labour (KnowTheChain, 2025). Source ↗
- A Guardian investigation reported Nepalese workers at a Samsung supplier in Malaysia had passports confiscated, paid recruitment fees and worked 14-hour shifts; Samsung launched an investigation (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2016). Source ↗
Sources (12)
- Samsung board chairman sentenced to jail on union busting charges (CNBC, December 2019) · archived copy · Seoul Central District Court jailed board chairman Lee Sang-hoon; about 25 others convicted of sabotaging unions at Samsung Electronics Service
- TN Samsung workers' union registered after prolonged struggle (The News Minute) · archived copy · Strike from September 2024; union registered 27 January 2025 after Madras High Court direction; Samsung objected to use of its name
- TN Samsung workers go on protest after three union leaders suspended (The News Minute, February 2025) · archived copy · Samsung suspended three union officials in February 2025
- Samsung and unions (Wikipedia) · archived copy · No-union history; 2020 apology by Lee Jae-yong; 25-day NSEU strike from July 2024; Chennai strike 2024
- Samsung Electronics apologises over factory worker cancer cases (Al Jazeera, November 2018) · archived copy · Apology and compensation of up to 150m won per case; about 320 ill workers and 118 deaths reported
- Samsung fined after workers exposed to radiation (Bloomberg, September 2024) · archived copy · NSSC found safety rule violations and fined Samsung up to 10.5m won
- Samsung Audit and Corrective Action Reports 2025 · archived copy · 59 third-party supplier audits in 2025 covering 8.4% of direct supplier facilities; 35 working-hour and 5 wage violations; over 95% of EPEAT products made in Samsung's own facilities
- Samsung Electronics Australia Modern Slavery Statement · archived copy · SEAU statement; US$960 recruitment fees reimbursed to two migrant workers; special audits of 47 suppliers; 32 production sites
- Samsung Electronics Responsible Minerals Report 2026 · archived copy · 66 cobalt smelters, 100% RMAP-conformant; 38 mica processors; child labour concerns in mica acknowledged; 12 smelters removed in 2025; no recycled cobalt figures
- Samsung Electronics Supplier List · archived copy · Supplier list covering 80% of procurement spending
- Samsung shifts smartphone production reliance from Vietnam (ChannelNews) · archived copy · Planned smartphone production split: Vietnam 50%, India 29%, Indonesia 6%
- KnowTheChain 2025 ICT Benchmark scorecard: Samsung Electronics · archived copy · Scored 61/100, ranked 1st of 45; publishes cobalt smelter and mica operator lists; gaps on purchasing practices and union engagement; two unresolved Uyghur forced labour allegations
Last researched 7 October 2026 · details still being verified. Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Represent this company and think something is wrong? A right-of-reply form is coming soon.