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[Herald Economy=Ji-young Park] \u201cWe demonstrated K-democracy,\u201d said Kim Young-hoon, minister of Employment and Labor.<\/p>\nTranslation result. [Herald Economy=Ji-young Park] \u201cWe demonstrated K-democracy,\u201d said Kim Young-hoon, minister of Employment and Labor.<\/p>\n
Over the past six months, Samsung Electronics\u2019 unions consistently pressed for \u201cgreater transparency and the removal of the performance-bonus cap.\u201d The divide between management and labor often seemed irreconcilable. Yet sustained negotiations produced a compromise \u2014 the outcome Minister Kim cited as evidence of the power of dialogue. The dispute threatened an unprecedented general strike that could have caused more than 100 trillion KRW (about $75 billion) in damage; the six months from the strike\u2019s emergence to the tentative agreement were tense and high-stakes.<\/p>\n
Last December, Samsung and the unions opened the first round of wage negotiations. A joint bargaining team composed of the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (Jeonsamno), the cross-company union, and Samsung Electronics\u2019 local unions demanded transparency in the over-profit incentive (OPI), elimination of the performance-bonus cap, and a 7% base pay increase.<\/p>\n
Relations began to fray in February. Rival SK Hynix allocated 10% of operating profit to performance bonuses and removed its cap, intensifying pressure within Samsung for equal or superior compensation. The union demanded \u201ccompensation at or above competitors\u2019 levels,\u201d declared the talks deadlocked, and requested mediation by the Central Labor Relations Commission. Even after six days of intensive negotiations, the commission suspended mediation.<\/p>\n
The joint bargaining group converted to a joint action committee, campaigned on \u201cremoving the performance-bonus cap and making bonus calculations transparent,\u201d and held a strike authorization vote. Members voted overwhelmingly in favor: 93.1% supported securing the right to strike.<\/p>\n
Vice Chairman and CEO Jeon Young-hyun personally intervened. After meeting union leaders, management restarted negotiations. Management offered that, if Samsung maintained industry leadership, it would allocate 10% of operating profit to bonuses and provide special awards beyond the cap; the union rejected that, insisting the cap\u2019s removal be institutionalized and arguing that loss-making divisions such as Foundry and System LSI remained undercompensated.<\/p>\n
As talks continued without narrowing differences, tensions escalated. Choi Seung-ho, head of the cross-company union\u2019s Samsung Electronics branch, urged a March general strike and made hardline remarks, including saying nonparticipants would be \u201cfirst in line for dismissal.\u201d Allegations emerged that the union had compiled a \u201cblacklist\u201d targeting nonmembers; management filed complaints with the police, further straining relations.<\/p>\n
Employees sympathetic to the union\u2019s demand for competitor-level pay flocked to the cross-company union. What began with roughly 6,000 members in September 2025 swelled to 75,000 within six months, giving the union majority status. On April 17 the cross-company union formally announced its majority-union status, increasing momentum for a general strike.<\/p>\n
On April 23 some 40,000 people gathered at the Pyeongtaek campus for a strike rally, intensifying pressure on management. Choi framed the confrontation as \u201ca fight for Samsung\u2019s future and South Korea\u2019s competitiveness,\u201d calling for the removal of the bonus cap and allocating 15% of operating profit to bonuses, and he reiterated the intent to proceed with the strike.<\/p>\n
The union\u2019s announced 18-day strike threatened over 30 trillion KRW (about $22.5 billion) in losses, heightening industry-wide concern. With no breakthrough in sight, management reached out in May. CEOs Jeon Young-hyun and Roh Tae-moon issued a statement pledging responsible leadership and asked the union to resume talks. With roughly ten days before the strike, both sides entered the first post-strike adjustment process under the Central Labor Relations Commission, but the union later declared the talks deadlocked, saying its demand to institutionalize and make transparent the abolition of the bonus cap had not been accepted.<\/p>\n
With the strike one week away, management made another overture. Eighteen division presidents issued an apology, visited the Pyeongtaek plant, and proposed additional talks. The commission called for a second post-strike adjustment, and Minister Kim Young-hoon met with both sides to hear their positions.<\/p>\n
Chairman Lee Jae-yong ultimately broke the impasse. He issued a public apology, saying, \u201cI will face the storm and take responsibility,\u201d and appealed for unity: \u201cWe are one family. Let\u2019s pool our wisdom and move in the same direction so we can be proud to be Samsung people.\u201d Following Lee\u2019s apology, management agreed to the union\u2019s request to replace bargaining representatives, and private, behind-the-scenes talks resumed ahead of the second mediation.<\/p>\n
From the 18th \u2014 three days before the planned strike \u2014 the commission led a second adjustment process, with Commission Chairman Park Soo-geun personally participating. The situation was urgent. Despite a 25-hour marathon session, management declared the talks broken on the morning of the 20th, a day before the strike, arguing that the union\u2019s demands threatened the company\u2019s fundamental principle that \u201crewards follow performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minister Kim countered, saying \u201cit\u2019s not over until it\u2019s over,\u201d convened both sides around 4 p.m., and took charge of additional talks. After roughly six and a half hours of bargaining, the parties reached a tentative agreement and postponed the general strike. The deal secured a bold compensation framework by fixing the bonus pool at roughly 10% of operating profit. The union will hold a ratification vote among members over six days beginning on the 22nd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Samsung Electronics’ labor union pushed for transparency and wage reforms, leading to a historic compromise after months of negotiations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/thumb-ba374f0a-2652-4cd6-b0c9-38eeda2141e8.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social"],"yoast_head":"\n