The labor ministry said Monday it has begun looking into allegations that Samsung Group instructed its subsidiaries to foil any attempt by their workers to organize labor unions.

The move comes after an opposition lawmaker unveiled the conglomerate's 2012 document on labor-management affairs strategy on Oct. 14, which carries an instruction that companies should lead employees to disorganize a trade union if one is established.

Based on the document, the Korean Metal Workers' Union, Lawyers for a Democratic Society and the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy later filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office against 10 top executives of the conglomerate, including Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

The ministry said its Seoul regional office has recently taken over the case from the prosecution but will call in the accusers to know how they came to accuse the executives before trying to verify the authenticity of the document and where it came from.

"We will decide whether to investigate the document after questioning the accusers," said a high-level official with the Seoul office, requesting not to be named.

Samsung Group, which has a declared policy of "no-union management," has never been under a conglomerate-wide investigation for unjust labor practices although its electronics unit, Samsung Electronics, came under government monitoring for two months earlier this year for its alleged illegal dispatch of employees to other companies. (Yonhap News)