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 union coalition fractures over bonus demands
Members of Samsung Electronics' labor unions stage a rally at the company's semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, April 23. They are holding the flag of Samsung Electronics Labor Union, which is comprised mostly of employees from the company's chipmaking division. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Nam Hyun-woo
Consumer electronics workers withdraw from joint action over semiconductor bias
Samsung Electronics Co. Union (SECU), one of three Samsung Electronics labor unions that had jointly threatened to stage a strike over performance bonuses, has withdrawn from the joint action amid surfacing complaints that the coalition disproportionately serves the semiconductor division — a move that underscores growing rifts between workers in the company’s chip and consumer electronics businesses.
According to industry officials, SECU on Monday sent a letter to the coalition expressing its intention to withdraw from joint negotiations for 2026 wage and collective bargaining.
“Despite our proposals and requests aimed at protecting the interests of all union members, rather than those in a specific sector, we have received no response from the coalition,” SECU said in the letter.
Samsung Electronics has five labor unions and three of which — SECU, Samsung Electronics Labor Union (SELU) and National Samsung Electronics Union — formed a joint labor alliance for the ongoing wage negotiation. With around 2,300 members, SECU is the third largest among them. Approximately 70 percent of its members are from the company’s Device Experience Division, which covers smartphones, TVs and home appliances.
The negotiations and related labor actions are being led by SELU, the largest union with about 74,000 members and legal recognition as the representative union. Its membership is made up mostly of employees from Samsung’s chipmaking Device Solutions Division.
Since forming the coalition in November last year, the three unions have demanded the removal of the cap on performance-based bonuses and allocations equal to 15 percent of annual operating profit, and have threatened to stage a strike on May 21 unless the company accepts their demands.
However, discontent has been growing as the demands mostly apply to the chipmaking division but not to others. Under the coalition’s demands, employees in the chipmaking division could receive up to about 700 million won ($476,000) in bonuses per person this year, but those in the Device Experience Division would remain subject to the existing cap of 50 percent of annual salary.
Against this backdrop, a rising number of members recently posted requests on SELU’s website to leave the union. The planned strike has also struggled to gain support outside the chipmaking division, with liberal lawmakers also criticizing the coalition’s actions. Similar demands from subcontractors have also surfaced, undermining the coalition’s momentum for the strike.
“We have repeatedly called for cooperation to ensure the stable operation of the joint bargaining process, but mutual trust has been undermined, and we believe it is no longer possible to achieve the cooperative relationship,” SECU said.
The coalition plans to go ahead with the strike for 18 days as scheduled. About 28,000 members have indicated their intention to participate through an online survey.