Following a recent allegation of labor law violations, South Korean giant Samsung has been accused of religious discrimination against a Korean-American employee.
The lawsuit alleges that an employee who ran a Christian YouTube channel outside of work was fired for violating the company’s social media policy.
According to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Christopher Yoon, a former senior professional in Customer/Market Insights, filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics America, alleging religious discrimination and wrongful termination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The complaint was formally filed with the court on February 28, and the plaintiffs have requested a jury trial, including punitive damages.
The lawsuit stems from a YouTube channel that Yoon launched in 2020, named Chris Yoon, which Samsung allegedly took issue with.
“Yoon is an evangelical Christian who began a public YouTube channel wherein he frequently posts videos discussing his Christian beliefs,” the plaintiffs allege in their complaint. “In January 2021, the company conducted an audit of Yoon’s YouTube channel after receiving ‘reports’,” the complaint states.
According to the complaint, Samsung’s legal counsel asked Yoon to separate all things related to Samsung from his YouTube channel. Yoon complied with the request and immediately removed dozens of comments.
Yoon’s channel currently has more than 200,000 subscribers as of March. It primarily features content related to faith talks and personal testimonies, but it also posts videos that often address views of Donald Trump and Joe Biden from a Christian perspective. There are some glimpses of Yoon’s religious beliefs and political colors in the collection.
The problem comes afterward. According to the complaint, the company continued to call Yoon out on subscriber comments and other issues, and the company sent out a mass email to the HR department about certain employees complaining about Yoon’s YouTube videos.
“Plaintiff performed a thorough sweep of his videos to ensure that he was not in violation of the defendant’s request but found no other comments,” the complaint alleges, adding that he was subsequently notified of his termination by Samsung for violating its social media policy. Yoon claims he was not in trouble at work. “Yoon received positive accolades and no concerns were expressed regarding his performance,” the complaint states, adding that he was terminated solely for expressing his religious beliefs.
Yoon also filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The commission granted Yoon the ‘right to sue’ on November 30 of last year, separate from its own investigation, and the case eventually became civil.
The Korea Daily reached out to Samsung Electronics America for comment on the lawsuit but did not receive a response as of 2 p.m. on March 13.
Samsung Electronics America is also facing a jury trial in October on a lawsuit filed by Christopher Buchanan, 58, a former business development manager in Los Angeles, alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress, discrimination, unpaid wages, and wrongful termination. Samsung also has been embroiled in a spate of lawsuits since last year, when an executive at Samsung Research America was accused of violating labor laws by ordering “dark skin” should wait outside in preparation for a visit to the U.S. by Vice Chairman Jaeyong Lee.
BY YEOL JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
