Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Samsung faces growing risks as labor unions move toward strike
Members of Samsung Electronics' labor unions stage a protest at the company's plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, July 8, 2024. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon
By Nam Hyun-woo
Unions plan to stage protest on April 23, begin strike on May 21
Samsung Electronics is facing a potential general strike by its unionized workers, increasing a sense of uncertainty for the company, which is already facing heightened geopolitical risks from the current conflict in the Middle East.
According to the unions, the National Labor Relations Commission decided on Wednesday to suspend mediation for wage negotiations between Samsung Electronics and its top three labor unions — Samsung Electronics Labor Union (SELU), National Samsung Electronics Union and Samsung Electronics Co. Union.
When combined, the three unions have more than 90,000 members, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the company’s 129,000 employees. SELU alone has more than 66,000 members.
With the commission failing to mediate the dispute, the unions are now legally allowed to carry out labor actions, including strikes. To proceed, the unions must hold a vote among their members, and a strike can begin if a majority votes for the action.
The unions said Thursday they will hold a vote from March 9 to 18. If union members approve, the unions plan to stage a joint protest at the company’s Pyeongtaek plant in Gyeonggi Province on April 23 and launch a general strike from May 21 to June 7.
“The three unions combined have about 90,000 members, meaning at least 45,000 votes in favor are needed,” said Choi Seung-ho, chairman of SELU and head of the joint negotiation committee, during a livestream Thursday.
“We aim to secure the legal right to strike by mid-March, and we expect the vote to pass,” he said. “We plan to take a long-term approach to the negotiations and will prepare thoroughly to achieve the union's demands.”
Choi Seung-ho, right, chairman of Samsung Electronics Labor Union (SELU) and head of the joint negotiation committee for the three Samsung Electronics labor unions, speaks during a live streaming event, Thursday. Captured from SELU's social media
The two sides have been in wage negotiations since December last year, but have failed to narrow their differences, with both sides refusing to compromise over a union demand for removal of the upper limit on the company’s excess profit incentive, called OPI.
The company said in a statement that it regrets the negotiation failure, saying “the unions repeatedly demanded the removal of the upper limit on OPI.”
The company proposed maintaining the current OPI ceiling of up to 50 percent of an employee’s annual salary while allowing workers to choose between operating profit and economic value as the basis for calculating the incentive.
The proposal also included an additional 100 percent OPI payout for employees of the memory division if operating profit exceeds 100 trillion won. The company also proposed special incentives for non-memory divisions currently posting losses, depending on the degree of improvement in their performance.
Union members, however, say they feel disadvantaged compared with SK hynix, which paid performance bonuses equivalent to 2,964 percent of base salaries. Some also raised concerns that the plan could widen gaps between business divisions, saying the company appears to favor the memory segment.
If union members vote for a general strike, Samsung Electronics could face its first strike in nearly 20 months .
The first strike in Samsung Electronics’ history started in July 2024 and lasted for approximately one month. Participants were mostly union members in the semiconductor and manufacturing departments. The unions say the strike caused “significant setbacks” in the company’s operations and said about 6,000 employees joined the protest each day, but the company disputes those claims.
A general strike could hit Samsung Electronics’ operations hard, particularly its semiconductor business. After losing ground in a heated competition to supply high-bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia in late 2024 and early 2025, the company’s memory division suffered a downturn. However, business started to stabilize late last year as Samsung secured more supply deals. Any disruption to production at this stage could affect the already tight memory supply cycle.
“The number of employees joining unions seems to be higher than in 2024, and a significant portion of the unionized workers are from the semiconductor division, which accounts for a large share of the company’s overall profits,” an industry official said.
“Given this, the potential impact could be much greater than during the first strike in 2024, and management’s ability to respond to labor risks has become increasingly important.”
The possibility of a strike adds further uncertainty for Samsung Electronics, which is already exposed to heightened geopolitical risks stemming from the U.S. and Israel-Iran war.
Samsung Electronics remains the market leader in the Middle Eastern smartphone market, with a 34 percent share as of the third quarter of 2025, and the region is also a key market for its home appliance business. If conflicts in the region are protracted, it could affect the market’s consumer sentiment.