Union warns of largest-ever walkout as wage talks remain stalled
Samsung Electronics is facing the threat of the largest strike in its history, with labor authorities moving to bring the union and management back to the negotiating table ahead of a planned walkout later this month.
According to industry sources on Friday, Kim Do-hyung, chief of the Gyeonggi branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which oversees Samsung Electronics, is set to meet Choi Seung-ho, head of the Samsung Electronics Labor Union, the company’s largest union, later in the day.
The meeting comes as the union has announced plans to launch a full-scale strike on May 21, putting added pressure on both sides to resume talks before the dispute escalates further.
The National Labor Relations Commission, which mediates labor disputes, has also asked Samsung Electronics and the union whether they would agree to enter a post-mediation process.
Post-mediation can be launched after formal mediation has ended, but only with consent from both labor and management. Under the process, the commission acts as a mediator and helps the two sides continue negotiations.
Mediation over Samsung Electronics’ performance-based bonus system was halted in March. If both sides agree to post-mediation, however, talks could resume under the commission’s mediation.
Samsung Electronics has been through a similar process before.
In July 2024, when the company’s union staged its first strike, the National Labor Relations Commission began post-mediation between labor and management. The process, however, failed to produce an agreement.
The two sides later resumed negotiations on their own and eventually reached a tentative wage agreement.
As the labor dispute moves closer to a full strike, it is taking on broader economic significance, adding pressure on the government to play a more active role.
The government’s move comes amid concerns that a prolonged strike at Samsung Electronics could weigh on Korea’s economy and industrial supply chains.
President Lee Jae Myung said during a senior secretaries’ meeting on April 30 that “If some organized workers make excessive or unfair demands to protect only themselves and draw public criticism, it will hurt not only the union concerned but also other workers.”
He did not mention Samsung Electronics by name. But the remark was widely seen as being aimed at the company’s union, as public criticism over the planned strike has grown.
Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon also called for dialogue Thursday during a nationwide meeting of regional labor office chiefs to review key labor relations issues.
“I urge Samsung Electronics labor and management to swiftly engage in sincere dialogue,” Kim said.
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