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About SAMA
It was instituted in 1973 when Saturday was a full working day in Korea. It was such a pioneering concept then and for several decades thereafter.
As a result, it was covered widely in the media, both in print and TV.
Only after 1998, 25 years later, many companies in Korea started adopting SAMA’s “five working days a week” policy.
Again, this policy was started so that our employees can spend more time with their families for two days a week unlike everyone
else in Korea who only had one day a week free.
It started in 1972, 5 years before the government’s national health care coverage was instituted.
SAMA’s health insurance covers not only the employee, but also the immediate family members, including parents.
SAMA also covers the funeral fees for their parents in the case of the employee being the first-born son or daughter,
as it’s been a cultural norm for the first-born to bear the financial responsibility in Korea.
This policy was instituted also in the belief that the employee’s and his/her family’s health is the basis of the health of our company.
In the 1970s, factory workers in Korea were paid daily based on their attendance, while white-collar workers were always paid in monthly salaries.
Seeing it as unjust for factory workers and based on our corporate value, Respect for Human Dignity,
SAMA eliminated checking the daily attendance and the daily pay for factory workers for the first time in Korea,
and moved them into the monthly salary system just like office workers.
Touched by this thoughtful policy, SAMA’s factory employee morale and loyalty to the company were elevated even higher.
In the 1970s, companies in Korea allowed employees to take only a few days off between July and August and only
if they could ensure their vacation did not interfere with the work flow.
As a result, it was rare to see employees taking vacation.
True to their corporate value and motto, SAMA instituted the company-wide summer vacation week for
all employees so that they can have some time off in the summer without any pressure.
This was the exemplary policy which many other pharmaceutical companies in Korea began to follow thereafter.
Starting in 1971, whenever our employee has a newborn baby, we provide financial support for the first six months of baby-care costs.
This policy is our unique welfare system which is hard to find even in today’s companies.
This policy was instituted to celebrate each birth, the miracle and joy to the individual employee who has become a parent.