Top policymakers call for prompt settlement of Samsung labor dispute

financial authorities-Samsung strike

Top policymakers call for prompt settlement of Samsung labor dispute

By Kang Yoon-seung

SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top economic and financial policymakers on Thursday called for the prompt settlement of a labor dispute at Samsung Electronics Co., warning that a possible strike could threaten the country's economy amid a semiconductor supercycle.

Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and other heads of financial authorities made the joint remarks during a meeting on the potential fallout from a planned walkout by Samsung Electronics workers, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

The meeting was attended by Bank of Korea Gov. Shin Hyun-song; Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission; and Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service.

"The participants expressed concern that a strike by Samsung Electronics workers could pose a significant risk to economic growth, exports and the financial market," the finance ministry said in a release.

"They highlighted that there should never be a strike and that the issue should be promptly settled through principle-based negotiations," it added.

Samsung Electronics and its workers failed to reach an agreement Wednesday after two days of government-led mediation talks that had been viewed as a last-ditch effort to avert a strike scheduled for May 21.

The union has demanded performance bonuses equivalent to 15 percent of operating profit, along with the removal of the payout cap and the formal institutionalization of the bonus system amid the company's record-breaking earnings during the global artificial intelligence boom.

Management, meanwhile, proposed allocating 10 percent of operating profit to bonuses and offering a one-time special compensation package that it said exceeds industry standards.

Touching on the financial market, the participants said the recent volatility in South Korea's foreign exchange market has been excessive relative to the country's economic fundamentals, due mainly to foreign investors' selling of local shares and speculative trading.

(From L) Lee Eog-weon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission; Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol; Bank of Korea Gov. Shin Hyun-song; and Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, pose for a photo during a meeting held in Seoul on May 14, 2026, in this photo released by the Ministry of Finance and Economy. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)