Samsung Workers Approve Massive Bonus Deal — But Is It Legal?

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[Anchor] Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon, who mediated Samsung Electronics’ labor talks through the final stages, described the tentative agreement’s approval as “the members’ wise judgment.” He said he will convene an emergency forum to build consensus on the dispute over distributing large excess profits. This is reporter Kim Tae-uk. [Reporter] Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon held a press briefing at the Government Complex Sejong this morning to present the government’s position on the Samsung labor agreement. He called the union’s 73.7% approval in the ratification vote “the members’ wise judgment.” If a final agreement is reached, he urged both sides to honor its spirit: the union should work to stabilize labor relations, and management should follow through on its commitments. He added that Samsung, as a leading national company, must not forget shared growth with its suppliers, contributions to local communities, and workplace safety. He said he expects the company to present constructive proposals to the public. Debate over profit distribution has intensified after the deal could award performance bonuses of up to about 600 million KRW (approximately $450,000) per employee. On that point, Minister Kim said he will hold an emergency forum next Monday to explore the possibility of a “Korean-style social solidarity wage policy” and to seek solutions. He argued that if Samsung’s success resulted from the union’s dedicated efforts combined with societal support, then any redistribution should be negotiated through social dialogue. 「Kim Young-hoon / Minister of Employment and Labor」 “The workers in the Jinju Cargo Solidarity and the Samsung Electronics workers in Pyeongtaek are all workers. The question before us is how we find our common ground. We will not avoid it. We must find the answer.” The Korea Shareholders Movement Headquarters, a Samsung shareholder group, accused the proposed “operating-profit-linked performance bonus” agreement of violating the Commercial Act and warned it would respond forcefully, including pursuing dispute measures. At a noon press conference today at the Gyeonggi Regional Labor Relations Commission, the group criticized the plan to pre-allocate a fixed percentage of pre-tax operating profit to bonuses as a disguised, illegal dividend that bypasses the dividend procedures required under the Commercial Act. This is Kim Tae-uk of Yonhap News TV. [Video reporting: Mun Won-chul] [Video editing: Kim Mi-jung] For Yonhap News TV inquiries and tips: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23; Kim Tae-uk (tw@yna.co.kr)