Samsung Electronics Union to Strongly Counteract Daily Fine of Around 100 Million Korean Won, Planning to Proceed with Planned Strike on the 21st

BlockBeats News, May 18: The Samsung Electronics Union announced that it will proceed with the planned strike. Earlier today, a South Korean court partially approved Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction against the union's planned strike. If the Samsung Union fails to comply with the court order and continues the strike, it will be fined approximately 100 million South Korean won per day.

The Samsung Electronics Union had previously decided to launch an 18-day general strike starting on May 21. The main reason is to seek more profit-sharing dividends in 2026 when the company's AI semiconductor business is expected to achieve historically high profits. The union is demanding the removal of the performance bonus cap, setting aside 15% of the company's operating profit as a source of performance bonuses and institutionalizing transparency, while also seeking a 7% increase in basic wages to narrow the salary gap with competitor SK Hynix. The Samsung management is only willing to offer a one-time special bonus or a limited 10% profit sharing plan, refusing to permanently change the system due to concerns about increasing long-term operational burdens, impacting competitiveness, and shareholder rights.

According to Bitget market data, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) saw its intraday gains narrow to 4.2% due to the potential strike expectations.