Samsung Electronics office in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on May 10 [NEWS1]
Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group United Union, the conglomerate's cross-affiliate union, warned that labor negotiations will fail unless the company agrees to institutionalize a bonus system that guarantees workers 15 percent of operating profit and removes the existing cap on performance pay.
"We have consistently called for the payment of 15 percent of operating profit as bonuses, the abolition of the cap and the institutionalization of the system," Choi Seung-ho, head of the union chapter, told reporters ahead of a post-mediation session at Government Complex Sejong on Monday. "If the company has no position on institutionalization, we believe mediation will fall apart today."
Choi also accused the company of failing to honor previous commitments. "Management said it would set aside funds during good years to cover bonuses during loss-making periods, but it did not follow through," he said. "I cannot trust the word 'codification' — I want to see this addressed clearly from the perspective of institutionalization."
He left some room for compromise, adding that the union would be willing to "consider its position if the company showed a meaningful change in stance."
One issue that will not be on the table at this round of talks is the establishment of a company-wide bonus pool that would extend performance pay beyond the semiconductor division to other business units.
“It is difficult to change what the three unions decided together now. We do not want to create an issue of negotiating in bad faith,” Choi said. “We are maintaining our original direction. As we have now been legally recognized as the majority labor union, we plan to actively review opinions on this matter next year as well.”
Samsung Electronics and its union resumed talks through the post-mediation process on Monday, with a second session scheduled for Tuesday. Post-mediation is a procedure under Korean labor law in which both sides agree to resume mediation after a previous round has ended without resolution, with the National Labor Relations Commission serving as intermediary. Any agreement reached through the process carries the same legal force as a collective bargaining agreement.
The two sides failed to reach agreement during mediation in February and March, after which the Ministry of Employment and Labor stepped in to persuade both parties to return to the table through the post-mediation process.
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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