The government will be pushed to invoke "all available measures including emergency arbitration" if Samsung Electronics' wage negotiations fall through, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Sunday.
"I earnestly request that the labor union and the management (of Samsung Electronics) achieve an outcome in a mediation, which is virtually the last opportunity," Kim said in an address at the Government Complex Seoul.
Samsung Electronics' labor union and management are scheduled to sit down for the final round of talks Monday.
"However, if a concerning situation occurs in which the national economy could be greatly damaged due to a strike, the government will have no choice but to come up with all available response measures including emergency mediation to protect the national economy."
Kim's remarks echoed Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan's hint at exercising emergency mediation on Thursday as the labor-management dispute lingered on with the deadline for Samsung union's strike to begin on May 21 drawing near. When emergency mediation is invoked, the government intervenes in labor disputes to impose a forced suspension on the labor union's activities,
The prime minister said a strike would cause irreversible damage to South Korea's national strategic assets and its global standing in the country's industry that was recently enriched from the global artificial intelligence boom.
"Once lost, it may be difficult to recover market share and competitive edge," Kim said, adding the strike would ultimately "lead to a drawdown of the domestic semiconductor industry."
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