Samsung’s Internal Divide: Why a New Pay Deal is Splitting Its Workers

[Green Economy News = Reporter Jeong Chang-hyun] Internal conflict within Samsung Electronics’ union has intensified since management and labor reached a tentative agreement. Opposition from DX employees (finished products such as home appliances and mobile devices) who oppose the deal, together with pushback from the loss-making System LSI and Foundry units, has spread concurrently, deepening divisions within the union.

Industry sources say that ahead of the membership vote on the tentative agreement, ranks in the third union, Samsung Electronics Labor Union Donghaeng (Donghaeng Union), swelled from roughly 2,000 members to about 11,000.

Union insiders attribute the surge to reports that Donghaeng members who completed CMS registration before 2 p.m. that day were also issued ballots, prompting rapid enrollment by employees dissatisfied with the deal.

Analysts say the move dovetails with rising discontent inside the DX division. Some DX employees contend that bonus distribution favors the memory division, leaving other units comparatively marginalized.

A DX union member said, “Those in memory may be satisfied, but divisions outside memory will understandably feel aggrieved. It appears the company ultimately engineered a memory-centric structure.”

Tensions have also widened between the memory division and the so-called loss-making System LSI and Foundry units.

Some System LSI and Foundry members argue the tentative deal effectively excludes loss-making units, saying those units’ shares were reduced compared with earlier negotiation drafts.

Several members claim the distribution retreated from the previously discussed “division-common 7 : business-unit 3” framework to roughly “4 : 6,” and that additional cuts in payout ratios for loss-making units effectively sidelined LSI and Foundry.

One member criticized, “The percentage floor dropped (15 → 10.5%), and the distribution ratios are distorted (7 → 4). In the end, memory was prioritized and LSI and Foundry were abandoned.” Another member added, “The tentative agreement now disadvantages the loss-making units more than the company’s May 17 proposal did. Isn’t the union simply using those units to preserve its majority?”

Some observers argue the union failed to secure the transparency of bonuses and the removal of caps it had advocated, resulting in an agreement that ultimately favors memory.

Others counter that, given government and public pressure and the prospect of emergency mediation, union leadership negotiated the most realistic agreement available. They note the company consistently resisted providing additional compensation for loss-making units.

Analysts say the outcome of the ratification vote could reshape internal union power dynamics as the divergent interests of DS units—Memory, System LSI and Foundry—and DX divisions become more pronounced.

Earlier, Samsung management and the union reached a tentative bonus agreement during talks chaired by the minister of employment and labor just before a planned general strike, and the strike was put on hold. The ratification vote begins on the 22nd, and the union will announce the result on the 27th.