Samsung, union extend last-ditch talks as general strike looms

Park Su-keun, chairperson of the National Labor Relations Commission, answers reporters’ questions after observing the morning session of the second round of post-mediation talks betwenn Samsung Electronics management and labor at the commission’s office inside the government complex Sejong on May 18. [YONHAP]

The second round of post-mediation talks between Samsung Electronics and its labor unions, widely seen as the final round of negotiations ahead of a planned general strike on Thursday, is expected to continue through Tuesday.

“It appears unlikely that a mediation proposal will be reached today,” said Park Su-keun, chairperson of the National Labor Relations Commission, to reporters during the second round of post-mediation negotiations at the government complex in Sejong on Monday. “We decided to continue the talks through Tuesday."

Samsung Electronics and its unions began the second round of post-mediation under the commission’s mediation. Choi Seung-ho, the head of the Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group United Union, Yeo Myung-koo, head of the People Team under Samsung’s Device Solutions division and the company’s chief bargaining representative, attended the meeting.

Park said the negotiations were still in the early stages.

“We heard both sides’ positions in the morning, and each side will bring forward its proposals in the afternoon,” Park said.

The meeting is scheduled to continue until 7 p.m. Friday and resume at the same location at 10 a.m., the following day.

Samsung Electronics management and labor have been deadlocked in an ongoing dispute over wages and the structure of performance-based bonuses.

The unions warned that they would launch a general strike beginning Thursday and continuing through June 7 if the company does not accept their demands, which include scrapping the annual bonus cap and distributing 15 percent of the semiconductor division’s annual operating profit to workers.

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.