The Samsung Electronics union began voting on the '2026 Wage Negotiation Agreement' on May 22. As concerns about compensation disparities and equity among different business divisions arise, there is a growing sentiment among non-memory sectors within the semiconductor (DS) division and the finished products (DX) division to reject the tentative agreement.
The union's joint action committee is conducting electronic voting for all members from 2 p.m. on May 22 until 10 a.m. on May 27. The agreement will be legally binding if more than half of the eligible voting members participate and approve it.
The voting population includes over 90,000 union members, which is more than half of Samsung Electronics' total workforce of approximately 130,000. If the agreement fails to secure majority support, it will be rejected, and both parties will need to return to the negotiation table.
Union leaders anticipate that the agreement will likely pass, as over 70% of union members belong to the semiconductor (DS) division. According to the tentative agreement, if Samsung Electronics achieves an operating profit of 300 trillion won this year, employees in the memory division could receive performance bonuses of up to 60 million won each.
However, significant internal opposition exists. Particularly, members from the foundry and system LSI sectors within the DS division have expressed feelings of neglect and dissatisfaction, stating, "The disparities within the same sector are too extreme." They are expected to receive performance bonuses of around 160 million won based on a common resource distribution rate of 40%, but this is several hundred million won less than what employees in the memory division will receive.
Ahead of the voting, an anonymous open chat room titled '[Samsung Electronics] DS Division Tentative Agreement Must Be Rejected' was created, attracting over 1,000 participants within an hour, primarily from the non-memory sectors.
There is a strong movement against the tentative agreement among employees in the DX (Device Experience) division, which includes mobile and home appliance sectors. As of May 20, the number of DX division union members was around 3,000, but by 2 p.m. on May 21, it surpassed 10,000, with approximately 9,000 employees joining the union in just one day. This surge is seen as a collective effort to express strong opposition to the agreement, which many feel neglects the DX division.
Choi Seung-ho, chair of the joint action committee, stated the day before, "There may be aspects of this agreement that do not meet the expectations of our members," adding, "We will treat the voting results as a report card from the members to the super-large union."
If the agreement fails to achieve majority support, it is expected to trigger significant repercussions. The previously suspended strike could reignite, leading to a new turmoil between Samsung Electronics and its union.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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