Samsung Electronics workers' union has put off a planned strike from Thursday after resuming negotiations with management and receiving support from Seoul's labor minister. The union had called for the scrapping of a bonus cap and for a larger allocation of operating profits to be distributed in bonuses.
Choi Seung-ho , head of the Samsung Electronics Labour Union, speaks to reporters as he leaves after attending a mediation meeting at the National Labor Relations Commission in Sejong on May 20, 2026.
Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. SEOUL: Samsung Electronics workers' union said late on Wednesday that a planned strike had been put on hold until further notice after negotiations with management resumed with the participation of Seoul's labour minister. The company's management and workers' union had resumed talks earlier in the day in a last-ditch attempt to avert a strike.
The labour union at the world's top memory chip maker had said it would begin a strike on Thursday afterBut late Wednesday, it said the planned strike"will be put off until further notice", adding that it would put a tentative wage deal to a vote. All members will participate in the vote, which will take place between May 23 and May 28, the union said.
Labour Minister Kim Young-hoon said the company's management and union reached a tentative agreement through voluntary negotiations, and thanked both parties for"holding fast to the thread of dialogue until the very end". Samsung's management apologised for the"concern caused" by the dispute, vowing to"build a more mature and constructive labour-management relationship so that such a situation does not arise again".
The walkout was expected to dwarf a 2024 strike that drew about 6,000 workers, as anger flares among staff over how the company distributes its massive profits from an artificial intelligence-fuelled boom. The union had called for the scrapping of a bonus cap set at 50 per cent of annual salaries and for 15 per cent of operating profit to be allocated to bonuses.
According to the union's lawyer, around 50,500 workers were set to walk off production lines for 18 days from Thursday following the In response, Samsung's management had said the earlier talks failed because"acceding to the labour union's excessive demands would risk undermining the fundamental principles of the company's management". South Korea says it will pursue all options to avoid Samsung strike The standoff has raised concerns in South Korea, where semiconductors account for about 35 per cent of exports and are a key pillar of the economy.
The presidential office had expressed"deep regret" over the collapse of talks earlier, urging both sides to continue negotiations given the strike's potential economic impact. Experts said even a partial halt in Samsung's operations could prove damaging - though the union argues that production stoppages have already occurred in the past for reasons related to maintenance and equipment inspections.
Samsung's union argued workers at another South Korean chip giant SK Hynix received bonuses last year that were more than three times larger than those paid at Samsung. The union's lawyer said the company has seen a talent drain to its rival and a rise in union membership due to what workers describe as a"lack of transparency" in the bonus system.
But Tom Hsu, an analyst at Taipei-based research firm TrendForce, said the potential impact of the strike, if it goes ahead, may be limited.
"Due to the high level of automation in front-end facilities, TrendForce expects Samsung's DRAM and NAND Flash production to remain at full capacity," he told AFP. A Suwon court this week largely granted Samsung Electronics an injunction requiring staffing and operations to be maintained at normal levels during any walkout, to prevent potential damage to the company's safety-related and other facilities.
Kim Sung-hee, director of Workers' Institute for the Industrial and Labour Policy, said that while the strike could cause losses,"they are unlikely to be irreversible". The strike, if it happens, does not mean it would"automatically trigger an economic crisis", he told AFP. Samsung is a major producer of chips used in everything from artificial intelligence to consumer electronics.
The company said this year it had begun mass production of next-generation high-bandwidth memory chips, HBM4, seen as a key component for scaling up the vast data centres needed for AI development. The dispute had unfolded against the backdrop of an AI boom that is benefiting South Korean tech groups, boosting national growth and the stock market. Long staunchly anti-union, late founder Lee Byung-chul once vowed never to allow unions"until I have dirt over my eyes". Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Global Korea Samsung Electronics Workers' Union Strike Bonus Cap Negotiations Labor Minister Korea Bonus System High Level Of Automation DRAM NAND Flash South Korea Lack Of Transparency AI Boom Mass Production Next-Generation High-Bandwidth Memory Chips Artificial Intelligence Consumer Electronics Data Centres Anti-Union Lee Byung-Chul
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