Members of the Samsung Electronics Labor Union hold up placards that read, “Let’s be transparent!” On April 23, 2026, a large rally is held outside the company’s foundry and semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek to demand the removal of caps on performance bonuses. (Photo credit: Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)
Jung Young Jae | AFP | Getty Images
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on Monday called for the rights of both labor and management to be respected following an 18-day strike at Samsung Electronics looms.
“Labor must be respected as much as business, and corporate management rights must be respected as much as labor rights,” Lee wrote in a Korean post on X.
“Excess is not beneficial. Extreme actions will lead to reversal,” he added, according to a translation of his remarks by CNBC.
Lee’s remarks are the latest in a series of statements from government officials urging Samsung Electronics and its union to reach an agreement before the strike begins, scheduled for May 21.
Final negotiations between the union and Samsung management were scheduled for Monday.
The union’s demands center on Samsung’s performance-based bonus system. They are calling for performance bonuses equivalent to 15% of Samsung’s operating profit, removal of bonus payment caps, and formalization of the bonus structure.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, Samsung management has proposed dedicating 10% of operating profits to bonuses and offering a one-time special compensation package.
Samsung Electronics’ stock price rose as much as 6.65% on Monday.
economic impact
On Sunday, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok reportedly said the government would consider all possible responses, including “emergency coordination,” if the attack risks causing “serious damage.”
Under South Korean law, if it is determined that a dispute is likely to have a negative impact on the economy or daily life, the Minister of Labor can issue an “emergency adjustment” that suspends industrial action for 30 days.
Kim said Monday’s negotiations were the last chance to avoid a strike, adding: “The economic losses we will face will be beyond imagination.”
The prime minister estimated that direct losses from the strike could reach 1 trillion won ($664.7 million). If Samsung is forced to scrap the semiconductor wafers it is already producing due to a disruption in chip production, the economic loss could reach 100 trillion won.
He emphasized that Samsung Electronics accounts for 22.8% of South Korea’s exports and 26% of its market capitalization. Seoul’s presidential office also announced that Samsung Electronics’ sales account for 12.5% of South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Analysts have expressed concerns about concentration risk in South Korea’s stock market, with overreliance on a small group of companies increasing the risk of volatility and vulnerability to geopolitical shocks such as a slowdown in data center spending.
Kim’s statement also followed an X post last week in which Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol warned that “a strike must never occur under any circumstances.”
“Samsung Electronics is an important company that the world is watching,” Koo wrote. “Given the current business situation and the impact on the national economy, both labor and management must continue to strive for principled negotiations.”
Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong issued an unusual public apology on Saturday for causing “worry and anxiety” to customers around the world, according to South Korean media reports.
According to the union, more than 47,000 workers may take part in the strike.
It also said that the April 23 rally, which drew 40,000 workers, caused foundry production to drop by 58% that day, and Samsung’s memory production to drop by 18%. The union estimates that the 18-day strike could cost Samsung about 30 trillion won (about $20 billion).
—CNBC’s Miko Jang contributed to this report.
