SEOUL, May 08 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics and its union agreed to meet next week to iron out differences and possibly avert a full-scale strike scheduled for May 21, after the South Korean government stepped in amid fears that labor unrest could undermine a key pillar sustaining the economy and the stock market rally.
The Samsung Electronics Labor Union (SELU) announced Friday it will enter a formal "post-mediation" process, with intensive negotiations scheduled for May 11 and 12.
The breakthrough came after a meeting earlier Friday between union leadership and the head of the Gyeonggi Regional Employment and Labor Office. During the meeting, the government "strongly recommended" mediation and promised full support to facilitate a resolution, the union said in a statement.
Despite agreeing to the talks, the union maintained its hardline stance, noting that it will continue preparations for the planned walkout.
"If a satisfactory outcome is not reached, we will not hesitate to launch a general strike," SELU Chairman Choi Seung-ho said in the statement.
Management welcomed the resumption of talks. When asked earlier if the company would participate in a post-mediation process should the union agree, a Samsung Electronics official indicated readiness to engage.
"Reaching a settlement is naturally preferable to a strike for the company, so there would be no reason to refuse," the official said.
The intervention follows increasingly pointed remarks from President Lee Jae Myung, a former factory worker who has traditionally maintained labor-friendly credentials but has recently emphasized balancing workers’ rights with economic stability.
“If organized workers make excessive or unreasonable demands, they will face public criticism and ultimately harm the broader workforce,” Lee said during a meeting with senior aides on April 30.
Although he did not name any company, industry observers widely interpreted the remarks as a warning directed at the Samsung union as labor tensions intensified over bonuses and compensation tied to the semiconductor boom.
Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon reinforced the message during a separate meeting with regional labor officials.
“The achievements of Samsung Electronics were made possible by the dedication of its workers, but we cannot deny the role of countless suppliers, government support and R&D investment,” Kim said.
The government’s unusual intervention reflects the outsized importance of Samsung Electronics to the South Korean economy. Semiconductors account for roughly one-fifth of the country’s exports, while Samsung Electronics and its affiliates make up around 20 percent of the KOSPI’s total market capitalization, effectively anchoring the broader market rally.
The SELU, now the company’s largest labor organization with more than 40,000 members, has announced plans for an 18-day general strike beginning May 21 after wage negotiations collapsed. The union is demanding that 15 percent of Samsung Electronics’ operating profit be allocated to employee bonuses, arguing workers have not received a fair share of profits generated during the AI-driven semiconductor supercycle. Management has proposed a 10 percent bonus pool alongside additional one-time incentives.
The dispute comes as Samsung Electronics is racing to regain ground in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence servers, an area where rival SK hynix
has recently outpaced Samsung through early supply deals with AI chip leader NVIDIA.
Analysts warn that even limited disruptions inside semiconductor fabrication lines can trigger expensive yield losses because chip plants operate around the clock and require uninterrupted ultra-precise processing conditions.
Should disruptions escalate into a full production halt, estimated daily losses could climb to as much as 1 trillion won ($730 million), according to industry estimates. Any deterioration in yields or wafer damage would be especially costly as Samsung pushes to expand next-generation HBM shipments amid exploding global AI demand.
The confrontation is also exposing widening divisions inside Samsung itself. Employees in consumer electronics and device divisions have increasingly voiced resentment over compensation disparities favoring semiconductor workers, mirroring broader concerns over South Korea’s growing economic dependence on a narrow group of AI-linked exporters.
The labor standoff arrives at a politically delicate moment for the Lee administration, which is trying to preserve both labor support and industrial competitiveness as geopolitical instability and technology fragmentation intensify pressure on the export-driven economy.
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