Compliance, Ethics and Anti-Corruption
LITEON is steadfast in its commitment to upholding honesty and integrity in its business management, ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and ethical standards in the countries where it operates. This commitment is reflected in a sophisticated compliance management system that is continuously evaluated and updated. The Legal Department plays a pivotal role in monitoring changes in both domestic and international regulations that could impact the company’s operations, conducting regulation identification to ensure adherence across all business activities.
In 2023, LITEON recorded a total of 12 compliance-related reports, with 4 cases confirmed during investigations, leading to necessary actions. For reports lacking evidence, updates were communicated to whistleblowers to maintain transparency. Remaining cases were resolved per strict internal disciplinary actions, potentially resulting in sanctions or enhanced training to prevent future violations. Notably, there were no significant instances of conflicts of interest, money laundering, or insider trading in 2023.
LITEON emphasizes anti-corruption education through regular training for all employees. In 2023, the company hosted six "Compliance Leaders and Q&A Masters" events, with 6,159 participants and a continuous participation rate of 65%. These events address various topics such as corporate governance, sustainability metrics, and information security, reinforcing a culture of ethical behavior.
The internal control framework comprises routine audits and tailored task forces for large investment projects designed to mitigate fraud and illegal activities. LITEON maintains a zero-tolerance policy for compliance breaches, enforcing appropriate disciplinary measures proportional to the severity of any misconduct.
All employees are mandated to adhere to a stringent Employee Code of Conduct, encompassing areas such as professional ethics, gifts, client privacy, and intellectual property rights. Compliance training is mandatory for newly-recruited staff, who must sign a statement committing to ethical conduct. Compliance is implemented throughout every operational level of the business activities, such as product design, procurement procedures, and discipline is strictly enforced. We explicitly state prohibition of offering or taking of bribes; offering of illegal political donations, inappropriate sponsorship or charity donations, and improper gifts, treatments, or other unjustified benefits; infringement of intellectual property rights; and unfair competition as well as prevention measures and procedures that prevent products or services from causing damages to stakeholders in the Ethical Corporate Management Best Practice Principles. The rules are intended to protect the rights of customers and prevent loss of assets, penalties, and damage to reputation. Furthermore, LITEON connects compliance with employee remuneration, including "honesty and integrity" as a critical performance indicator impacting salaries; punitive measures for non-compliance range from warnings to termination.
The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) offers various in-person courses designed to enhance employee awareness of ethical standards and compliance issues. These courses cover topics such as business integrity, confidentiality, environmental protection, and anti-corruption.
As part of its internal controls and audits, LITEON conducts reviews within individual units and subsidiaries, disclosing updates and results in the annual report to ensure transparency and adherence to compliance practices. Overall, LITEON’s robust compliance policies aim to safeguard customer rights, reduce financial penalties, preserve assets, and protect the company's reputation, illustrating its dedication to ethical business practices and sustainable growth.
Reporting Mechanisms
LITEON upholds honesty and integrity in business management and complies with the laws and ethical standards of the countries in which it conducts business. To strengthen compliance and corporate governance practices, the board of directors passed the Corruption Reporting Guidelines. The guidelines require that the Office of the Chairman handle reports in accordance with the guidelines and related procedures. Details of the reporting mechanisms and processes are as follows:
Ethics complaint filing and reporting channels
The LITEON reporting channels are monitored by a dedicated staff responsible for accepting and processing reports. The staff also makes regular status reports to the Audit Committee. LITEON keeps informants' identities and their reports confidential and takes action to investigate and handle the cases.
Discovery of any unethical behavior or violation of the code of conduct may be reported by using one of the hotline and mailboxes below.
Telephone: +886-2-8793-6833
By email: ETHIC.HOTLINE@LITEON.COM
Mailbox: Office of Chairman Reporting Mailbox at PO Box 156-21, Jiangnan Post Office, Neihu District, Taipei City 114956.
Other channels available to employees in the company are the existing internal reporting extension at 1234 and the email address1234@LITEON.COM.
Process
Reports that are accepted by the task force will be assigned to the appropriate units for review according to the report and complaint processing procedures. If a complaint is confirmed to be valid, a committee consisting of department representatives andexperts will be created to review and rule on the complaint. Employees who areconfirmed to have violated the ethical corporate management best practice principles will be subject to administrative disciplinary action, recourse against unlawful gains, or further legal actions as appropriate.
Internal controlsRegular internal audits and training are performed to strengthen internal control. Furthermore, task forces will be created for large investment projects to apply certain processes to manage and prevent the risk of fraud and prevent illegal activities.
A campaign to raise awareness of the LITEON Ethical Management Policy takes place every year. The objective is to ensure the directors, managers, and employees understand fully and adhere to the ethical management regulations. Related training courses are also organized to reinforce compliance awareness.
To raise awareness of integrity and self discipline, LITE-ON requires new employees sign a statement of commitment to ethical conduct when they join the company so to help its employees understand the importance of ethical conduct and the need for it.
2023 Report Handling Status
- Corruption or Bribery cases
In the year 2023, our company and its subsidiaries received a total of 12 reports. After investigation, 4 cases were found to be substantiated. For those investigations with no evidence, the results were communicated back to the whistleblowers. The remaining cases have been handled according to internal disciplinary regulations, including sanctions or enhanced training and control measures for the involved employees. - Others: Discrimination or Harassment
A total of 4 cases of discrimination based on race, religion, skin color, and nationality were reported. After investigation and clarification, 2 cases were closed due to work performance not meeting the target and not due to discrimination.
In 2023, Taiwan and overseas plants received a total of 7 sexual harassment complaints, 2 of which were unsubstantiated, 5 cases have been closed, and the employees who behaved inappropriately were punished in different ways, including termination, depending on the severity of the case.
