Members of the Samsung Electronics union hold signs reading “Change it to be transparent!” while holding a mass rally calling for the lifting of a cap on performance bonuses in front of the company’s foundry and semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek on April 23, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)
Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday called for respect for both labor and management rights as an 18-day strike at Samsung Electronics looms.
Lee, who is in Korean
“Excess is not beneficial; extremes lead to reversal,” he added, according to a CNBC translation of his statement.
Lee’s comments are the latest in a series of statements by government officials calling on Samsung Electronics and its workers’ union to reach an agreement before a planned strike begins on May 21.
A final round of talks between the union and Samsung management was planned for Monday.
The unionThe focus of the demands is Samsung’s performance-based bonus system. The company is seeking performance bonuses of 15% of Samsung’s operating profit, elimination of bonus payout caps and a formalized bonus structure, among other measures.
According to Samsung, Samsung management has offered to allocate 10% of operating profits for bonuses and provide a one-time special compensation package South Korean Yonhap News Agency.
Shares of Samsung Electronics rose as much as 6.65% on Monday before trimming gains to about 3%.
Economic consequences
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok spoke on Sunday allegedly said the government would consider all possible response measures, including “emergency adjustments,” if the strike was at risk of causing “significant harm.”
Under South Korean law, the labor minister can invoke an “emergency adjustment” to suspend industrial action 30 days if a dispute is expected to harm the economy or daily life.
Kim described Monday’s negotiations as a final opportunity to avert the strike, adding that “the economic losses we face will be unimaginable.”
The prime minister estimated that direct losses from the strike could reach 1 trillion won ($664.7 million). The economic damage could rise to as much as 100 trillion won if disruptions in chip production force Samsung to scrap semiconductor wafers already in production.
However, the Samsung workers union denied the impact of the strikes, stating: a statement that there had been production breaks in the past due to equipment inspections, maintenance and process adjustments.
It also said the government did not adequately examine the union’s counter materials and focused solely on management’s claims.
Samsung Electronics accounts for 22.8% of South Korea’s exports and 26% of its total market capitalization, he pointed out. The presidential office in Seoul also informed Samsung Electronics Sales are 12.5% of South Korea’s GDP.
Analysts have expressed concerns Concentration risks in the South Korean stock market, with over-reliance on a small group of companies increasing the risk of volatility and vulnerability to geopolitical shocks, including a slowdown in data center spending.
Kim’s statements too followed an X post from the finance minister Koo Yun Cheol last weekwith the warning that “strikes must not take place under any circumstances”.
“Samsung Electronics is an important company that the world is watching,” Koo wrote. “Given the current management situation and its impact on the national economy, both the labor and management sides must continue to strive to reach principled negotiations.”
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Saturday apologized in a rare public apology to customers around the world for causing “concern and anxiety,” it said South Korean media reports.
More than 47,000 workers were able to take part in the strike, said the union.
It also said an April 23 rally attended by 40,000 workers led to a 58% drop in foundry production that day and an 18% drop in Samsung’s memory production. The union estimated that an 18-day strike could cost Samsung about 30 trillion won, or about $20 billion.
—CNBC’s Miko Jang contributed to this report.
