South Korea Samsung Electronics Labor negotiations have broken down again, with the union officially announcing an 18-day strike starting tomorrow (May 21), expected to involve at least 47,000 employees, potentially becoming one of the largest labor disputes in Samsung's history. The news triggered market turmoil, with Samsung's stock price turning from positive to negative territory, at one point plunging more than 3%. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung publicly stated that day that he believed the union was being too aggressive.
According to Yonhap News Agency, despite government mediation and the Ministry of Labor's intervention, labor and management failed to reach an agreement on the bonus system, and negotiations officially broke down on Wednesday (20th). The union immediately stated that it would launch a strike as planned; the management, on the other hand, called for continued dialogue and negotiation.
Samsung's labor union's core demand is that 15% of the semiconductor division's operating profit be allocated to performance bonuses. In a statement, Samsung noted that while the company has largely incorporated the union's demands, the union still requires substantial compensation even for loss-making business units.
On the same day, while presiding over a cabinet meeting and an emergency economic countermeasures meeting at the Blue House, Lee Jae-myung criticized the union's position, deeming its demands "too radical." He emphasized that while workers have the legitimacy to protect their rights, their actions must still have reasonable limits.
He pointed out that the original intention of the "three labor rights" was to protect workers, not to serve the extreme interests of minority groups. He believes that the main beneficiaries of corporate profits should be investors, not unions unilaterally dominating the market.
This strike has quickly triggered a chain reaction. There is growing concern that delays in Samsung's semiconductor production lines could lead to a restructuring of the global memory and chip supply chain, or even a shift in orders, impacting the performance of related stocks, including those in the semiconductor sector.
Some analysts point out that semiconductor manufacturing processes are highly complex, and a production line disruption could result in losses calculated in the billions of won per minute, with potential long-term reputational risks. If international customers switch orders to other suppliers due to supply instability, the barrier for Samsung to regain those orders in the future will be even higher.
