Samsung Electronics' office in Seocho District, southern Seoul. [NEWS1]
Samsung Electronics and its largest labor union returned to mediation talks on Monday, three days before a planned general strike that threatens to halt production at the country's biggest memory chipmaker.
The post-mediation session at the National Labor Relations Commission in Sejong resumed at 10 a.m., in what both sides view as a last-ditch effort to avert the walkout set to begin Thursday. The talks follow a weekend of escalating pressure from the government and Samsung's top leadership.
For starters, the president pitched in.
"Labor must be respected as much as business, and management rights as much as labor rights," President Lee Jae Myung said in an X post on Monday morning.
"Workers must be able to receive fair compensation for the labor they provide, and shareholders who invest while bearing risk and loss have a share in corporate profits.
"Korea's founding Constitution once even stipulated workers' right to an equal share in corporate profits."
Then, the company's chairman spoke up. Samsung Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong cut short a business trip to Japan, flew home Saturday and stood in front of reporters for a public apology.
"I apologize to customers around the world for the anxiety and concern caused by the company's internal problems," Lee said. "I will take the brunt of the storm on myself and bear all the blame."
"Now is the time to wisely pool our strength and move in the same direction," he added, calling on the union to return to dialogue.
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong at the Gimpo Business Aviation Center in western Seoul on May 16.[YONHAP]
A day earlier on Friday, Samsung's division presidents — led by Vice Chairman and CEO Jun Young-hyun — issued a joint apology to the public. The company also replaced its chief negotiator, swapping Vice President Kim Hyung-ro for Vice President Yeo Myung-koo, who heads the People Team in Samsung's Device Solutions semiconductor division.
The government took an unusually firm line over the weekend.
Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon met separately with both sides, and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok delivered a public address Sunday from the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, central Seoul.
"I earnestly ask, together with the entire nation, that both sides produce results in tomorrow's post-mediation session, which is effectively the last opportunity," Kim said. "If a strike causes serious damage to the national economy, the government will have no choice but to consider every available measure, including emergency arbitration."
It was effectively a public warning that the government could invoke emergency arbitration.
If triggered, all union industrial action is suspended for 30 days, and compulsory arbitration proceedings begin.
Concern in the business community now extends beyond the immediate wage dispute. If Samsung concedes to formalizing performance bonuses tied to operating profit, the demand could spread to unions at other major conglomerates.
Shareholders are another variable. Some minority shareholder groups have argued that the union's demands could erode the company's investment capacity and shareholder value, and are weighing legal action.
What worries markets most is production disruption. Given the weight of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in the domestic stock market and exports, a strike at a semiconductor plant could quickly become a national economic risk. Some inside the government have warned that prolonged industrial action could inflict economic damage of up to 100 trillion won ($66 billion).
"With the government and the chairman himself stepping in, this negotiation has effectively become a final showdown with no exit for either side," an industry source said. "Depending on today's outcome, the broader trajectory of labor relations across Korean industry — not just at Samsung — could shift significantly."
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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