Samsung Electronics Union Voter Turnout Surpasses 74%... Likelihood of Approval High
Backlash Spreads Within Samsung Over Gap of Up to 600 Million Won for DS vs. 6 Million Won for DX
'Asset FOMO' Spreads Across the Workplace Sector
"Cannot Keep Up with Labor Alone"... Surge in Stock Purchases of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix
An AI image depicting SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics semiconductor employees, who received massive performance bonuses, driving supercars such as Porsches to work. / Source: Blind
As the vote by union members on the tentative agreement regarding the 2026 wage negotiations and performance bonuses prepared by Samsung Electronics management and labor enters its second day, the voter turnout has surpassed 74%.
The industry generally views the tentative agreement as highly likely to pass given the current atmosphere.
However, as controversies surrounding the details of the agreement—specifically regarding disparities in performance bonuses across business divisions and the union's representativeness—have simultaneously emerged, a fierce fallout is spreading not only within Samsung Electronics but also across the entire Korean workplace.
With the possibility of performance bonuses reaching hundreds of millions of won being discussed in the Semiconductor (DS) division, a sense of extreme relative deprivation and a "financial FOMO" (fear of being left out) phenomenon are spreading among ordinary office workers.
According to the Samsung Electronics Branch of the Samsung Group's supra-enterprise labor union on the 23rd, the number of participants in the vote on the tentative agreement stood at 42,551 as of 10:40 AM.
The voter turnout stands at 74.27% compared to the total of 57,290 eligible voters. Considering that the voter turnout was 57.4% as of 5:30 PM the previous day, this means that nearly 10,000 additional union members participated in the vote in just 17 hours.
The vote on the agreement began at 2:00 PM on the 22nd and will conclude at 10:00 AM on the 27th.
The tentative agreement will be finally ratified if a majority of union members participate in the vote and a majority of those who participate vote in favor.
This vote, conducted via electronic voting, is attracting intense interest from within and outside the industry as it includes a performance bonus system considered to be the largest in Samsung Electronics' history.
The core of the tentative agreement is the establishment of a special management performance bonus for the Semiconductor DS Division and the payment of performance bonuses in the form of treasury shares, funded by 10.5% of business performance agreed upon by labor and management.
When combined with the existing Overprofit Incentive (OPI), the total performance bonus fund for the DS Division rises to approximately 12% of business performance.
Some treasury shares are subject to a sales restriction for up to two years.
Industry insiders are even discussing the possibility of performance bonuses of up to around 600 million won for employees in the Memory Business Division, based on an annual salary of 80 million won.
In fact, some in the securities and industry predict that if the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) supercycle and the AI semiconductor boom continue, the profitability of the memory sector could expand to levels incomparable to the past.
For non-memory organizations such as System LSI and Foundry, which are expected to incur losses, the possibility of performance bonuses of approximately 160 million won is also being discussed.
On the other hand, for the DX (Device Experience) division, which handles smartphones, TVs, and home appliances, and the customer service organization, the key compensation is the provision of company stock worth 6 million won.
This means that even within Samsung Electronics, the difference in compensation scales between business divisions could widen by tens of times.
Consequently, dissatisfaction is rapidly spreading on Samsung Electronics' internal bulletin boards and anonymous online communities.
Reportedly, reactions among employees include comments such as, "We have the same employee ID number, but it feels like a completely different company," and "Some people's assets have changed, while others only receive incentive payments."
The controversy is also spreading to issues regarding the voting procedure.
The Donghaeng Union, a union centered on the DX organization, will not be able to participate in the vote on the tentative agreement.
The supra-enterprise union maintains that the Donghaeng Union is not subject to the vote as it has withdrawn from the joint bargaining group.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor has also issued an interpretation stating that "the vote on the tentative agreement is not a legally mandatory procedure, and the scope of voting rights can be determined by the union."
However, backlash continues within the DX organization, with some questioning whether "an organization with strong opposition was excluded from the vote."
Analysis suggests that the recent rapid increase in the Donghaeng Union's membership is a result of the concentration of dissatisfaction within the DX organization.
Choi Seung-ho, Chairman of the supra-enterprise union, announced in a notice to members today that "we will proceed with a vote of confidence in June, regardless of the outcome of the tentative agreement."
Industry observers interpret this as an attempt to quell the situation early, as internal backlash and the controversy over representation have grown larger than expected. Samsung Electronics has managed to avoid the worst-case scenario of a general strike for now.
However, some observers suggest that the public exposure of disparities in performance bonuses across business divisions has further highlighted internal organizational rifts.
The controversy appears to be spreading beyond Samsung Electronics to the entire Korean workplace community.
Recently, workplace communities and platforms like Blind have been flooded with expressions of relative deprivation regarding the astronomical scale of performance bonuses at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Typical reactions include: “Seeing bonuses in the hundreds of millions of won gives me a reality check,” “Even if I work all year round, I wouldn’t even reach the level of those companies’ bonuses,” and “I thought we were just salaried workers, but it feels like a completely different world.”
Kim, a 35-year-old working at a mid-sized company, said, “I heard some people receive more money at once than their entire lifetime savings, so the commute to work felt meaningless.”
Choi, a 29-year-old working at a startup, also could not hide his bitterness, remarking, “With this bonus, I think I could not only afford a security deposit for an apartment but even buy a foreign car.” Memes satirizing this situation with self-deprecation are also spreading online.
An AI image depicting a procession of high-end foreign cars in front of the Samsung Electronics campus has even appeared, under the title "Commute to Samsung Electronics. Everything below Lamborghini and Ferrari is worthless."
Satirical jokes such as "throwing away yogurt lids without licking them" and "not caring about delivery fees" are also circulating.
Some users on Blind lamented, "Friends working at Samsung Electronics are already talking about signing contracts for Porsches," adding that "my motivation to work is disappearing."
Experts believe that this phenomenon could go beyond mere envy and lead to a sense of psychological alienation throughout society.
A psychology professor explained, "People feel a much greater sense of relative deprivation when comparing themselves to groups of similar age, occupation, or educational background than to social classes that are completely different from themselves," adding, "If the gap is perceived as excessive, it can lead to feelings of helplessness and depression."
Memes satirizing this situation with self-deprecation are also spreading online. As the perception spreads that it is difficult to catch up with the wealth gap through labor income alone, the interest of office workers is once again shifting toward semiconductor stocks.
The balance of the recently introduced Return-to-Investment Account (RIA) has reportedly grown to approximately 1.9443 trillion won within just two months of its launch.
Investors in their 40s and 50s accounted for a particularly high proportion.
It was found that these investors sold U.S. Big Tech stocks and concentrated their net purchases on Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
Industry analysts suggest this reflects the sentiment that "if it is difficult to catch up through labor alone, one must eventually jump on the capital market."
Optimistic forecasts from global investment banks are also fueling this atmosphere.
Nomura Securities recently significantly raised its target for the KOSPI this year to between 10,000 and 11,000 points, citing the semiconductor supercycle and the expansion of AI infrastructure. Samsung Electronics' target price was raised from the previous 340,000 won to 590,000 won, and SK Hynix's target price was raised from 2.34 million won to 4 million won.
Although Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix stock prices took a breather early in the trading session on the 22nd following the previous day's surge, the assessment is that market expectations remain strong.
An industry insider stated, "The recent controversy over Samsung Electronics' performance bonuses goes beyond a simple labor-management issue and is becoming an event that symbolically demonstrates the wealth gap, labor market polarization, and the concentration of the AI semiconductor industry within Korean society."
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