Translation result
[Herald Economy=Reporter Lee Won-yul] Kim Jung-kwan, minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, said on May 19 that he is earnestly hoping for a decisive settlement between Samsung Electronics and its labor union.
During a plenary session of the National Assembly’s Committee on Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups, Minister Kim said he has been careful that his comments not affect the ongoing second-stage post-adjustment mediation over the union’s threatened strike.
He nonetheless emphasized that the government must prevent the union’s planned strike, which is scheduled to run from May 21 through June 7.
“All citizens are worried about the fallout a strike at Samsung Electronics would cause,” he said. “We all understand the harm a strike would bring, and if our society cannot resolve this, I worry about our ability to address future challenges.”
He added that, since the previous day, he has been following the mediation results “prayerfully,” taking care with both his words and his conduct, and that he fervently hopes for an outcome the nation supports.
On May 14, Minister Kim posted on X (formerly Twitter) that given the gravity and the potentially unimaginable ripple effects of this issue, a strike must be prevented under any circumstance. “As industry minister, if a strike occurs I believe invoking emergency mediation would be unavoidable,” he wrote.
If the government invokes emergency mediation, unions must suspend all industrial action for 30 days.
That authority can be exercised by the minister of Employment and Labor when labor actions threaten to significantly harm the national economy.
“Samsung Electronics’ importance to our economy cannot be overstated,” Kim said. “Samsung’s performance and stock price directly affect citizens through roughly 4.6 million shareholders and various pension funds, including the National Pension Service.”
He warned that once the company loses competitiveness, it would not simply drop to second place — it could struggle to survive. “If a strike were to occur under those conditions, it would inflict irreparable economic damage,” he said.
Responding to Kim’s comment that emergency mediation would be inevitable if the union launched a full strike, the Blue House said on May 15 that the minister was speaking in his official capacity.
In a briefing, Blue House communications chief Lee Kyu-yeon said, “We hope a strike never happens. We view this with deep concern and worry.”
Most Commented