The walkout will run more than four times as long as the five day strike in early May, which the company estimated cost it about 150 billion won ($112 million), much of it in discarded drug products.
The third round of mediation broke down on Oct. 1.
Management has offered a 6.2 percent raise in base pay plus a lump-sum payment, saying its pay and benefits already lead Korea's pharmaceutical industry.
The union is demanding 9.5 percent and bonuses worth 15 percent of operating profit, arguing that fixed pay trails rivals at comparable ranks.
Chief Executive John Rim said in an Oct. 2 email to employees that the union had rejected the company's offer outright while clinging to "excessive demands without clear grounds."
He vowed legal action against any unlawful industrial action and said no-work, no-pay rules would apply during stoppages.
"If the company believed one-sided statements and warnings of accountability could sway employees and break the union's demands, it has misjudged," the union said in response, accusing management of shifting the blame for the breakdown in talks.
Rim also warned that production delays would weigh on new orders and "are highly likely to damage even long-standing trust with existing clients."
Hana Securities said in an Oct. 6 report that a drawn out labor dispute would unsettle clients that depend on stable supply under large, long-term contracts.
The union has also demanded direct bargaining with Samsung Electronics, Samsung Biologics' second largest shareholder with a 31.22 percent stake, over personnel and pay systems.
The move tests the revised trade union law, known as the Yellow Envelope Act, which can treat a firm with substantial control over working conditions as an employer.
AJP Takeaways
- The Samsung Biologics labor union plans a three-week general strike starting Oct. 26, 2026, after a third round of mediation broke down on Oct. 1, 2026.
- Management has offered a 6.2 percent base pay raise. The union is demanding 9.5 percent and bonuses worth 15 percent of operating profit. The company estimated that the union's five-day strike in May 2026 cost about 150 billion won.
- On Oct. 6, 2026, the union demanded direct bargaining with Samsung Electronics, which owns 31.22 percent of Samsung Biologics. The demand tests the revised trade union law.
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