Samsung and Union Enter Final Negotiations Ahead of Strike

Samsung Electronics and its labor union are entering final negotiations ahead of a planned strike. Following an apology from Lee Jae-yong, the company's chairman, the government has warned of strong measures, including emergency mediation, should a strike occur. This has raised hopes for a potential agreement between the two sides.
 
According to government and business sources, Samsung and the union will attend a second post-mediation meeting at the Central Labor Relations Commission in Sejong City at 10 a.m. on May 18. This meeting is seen as the last chance to avert a full-scale strike scheduled for May 21, with the commission's chairman, Park Soo-geun, set to oversee the discussions.
 
Previously, the two sides engaged in about 30 hours of initial post-mediation negotiations from May 11 to early May 13 but failed to reach an agreement.
 
After the breakdown of the first round of negotiations, both sides initially declared that no further discussions would take place. However, they have since revived talks through a restructuring of the management negotiation team and a commitment from the union to engage in sincere negotiations.
 
The company has replaced its lead negotiator, promoting Yeo Myung-gu, head of the People Team in the DS (Semiconductor) division, to take over from Kim Hyung-ro, the previous vice president. This change is seen as a response to the union's demand for a negotiation partner with substantial authority, signaling a shift from a defensive stance to a more proactive approach in seeking a compromise.
 
The union has also adopted a more constructive dialogue approach. Choi Seung-ho, chairman of the Samsung Electronics branch of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, expressed willingness to engage responsibly in the upcoming mediation, responding positively to the company's personnel changes and requests to resume talks. The chairman's appeal and the government's active mediation efforts appear to have influenced this shift in attitude.
 
However, it remains uncertain how much both sides will compromise at the negotiation table. The union continues to demand the abolition of the performance bonus cap and the establishment of a system that allocates 15% of annual operating profits as bonuses.
 
According to the union, during the first round of negotiations, the company proposed performance bonuses of over 600% for the memory semiconductor division, while offering a maximum of 100% for non-memory sectors such as foundry and system LSI. Choi stated, "If employees in the memory division receive bonuses of 500 million won while those in the foundry division only get 80 million won, will those employees remain motivated to work?" He advocates for uniform performance bonuses across the entire DS division.
 
The company, however, argues that providing uniform performance bonuses for the DS division is impractical due to the need for financial flexibility and management capacity.
 
As criticism mounts that the union is prioritizing its own interests at the expense of broader employee concerns, trust in the union is declining. The focus on wage negotiations for the DS division has exacerbated feelings of neglect among employees in the mobile and home appliance sectors.

In fact, internal dissatisfaction has surged, with nearly 4,000 members applying to leave the union in the past month, a figure that represents about half of the union members in the DX division. Some speculate that the union's majority status could be at risk.

Ahn Gi-hyun, executive director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, remarked, "With both the corporate leadership and government authorities calling for a resolution, it is crucial for both sides to approach the negotiation table with flexible options, considering the catastrophic risks of a strike."