Samsung Electronics Strike Risk: What Employees Are Saying About Potential 30 Trillion Won Loss

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With post-mediation between Samsung Electronics and its union just a day away, some employees are urging both sides to conclude negotiations quickly.
 
On the 10th, industry sources said employees who identified themselves as Samsung staff posted on the anonymous workplace community Blind, voicing concern about a prolonged labor dispute and the prospect of a strike.

One poster wrote, “I can’t even grasp what tens of trillions of KRW (tens of billions of USD) mean. If it goes to a strike, the risk will be enormous,” and urged union leaders to make a pragmatic decision.

He added, “Seung-ho hyung (Choi Seung-ho) has done well so far, but he should stop digging in and accept a fair deal,” and asked, “Isn’t it time for the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (JeonSamNo) to step in?”

Another employee said, “A strike is now imminent, and I’m worried about going through with it,” noting, “They say the losses could be nearly 30 trillion KRW (about $22.5 billion). Isn’t this getting out of hand?” He added, “If mediation collapses, we don’t know what unexpected actions Chairman Choi might take. As the bargaining representative, JeonSamNo should seek a reasonable, win-win resolution.”

Employees in the Device Solutions (DS) division, which handles Samsung’s semiconductor business, also posted urging agreement to avoid strike risk.
 
One poster who said he works in the memory business unit wrote, “If the memory division’s compensation is guaranteed, we should accept and move on,” adding, “If the cross-company union walks out of bargaining, JeonSamNo should still pursue an agreement.”
 
Earlier, the cross-company union excluded the “common funds” item proposed by JeonSamNo and the Donghaeng union during the selection of post-mediation agenda items, prompting strong backlash from Device Experience (DX) members. As a result, many DX members of the Samsung Electronics Donghaeng union officially withdrew from the joint bargaining team on the 4th.
 
A strike by Samsung’s union could produce staggering losses.
 
In a recent report, JPMorgan estimated that an 18-day strike could cut DS division revenue by up to 5.9 billion USD (about 8 trillion KRW). Global investment bank Citi Research cited strike risk when lowering its Samsung Electronics price target from 320,000 KRW (about $240) to 300,000 KRW (about $225).
 
Samsung Electronics and the union will enter post-mediation on the 11th and 12th.