Will Samsung’s Labor Negotiations End in Strike? Key Issues and Upcoming Talks Explained

Translation result. [Herald Economy — Reporter Lee Tae-hyung] Facing the threat of a full-scale strike, Samsung Electronics’ management and its union met at the Central Labor Commission’s second post-adjustment mediation table on May 18, but they showed little sign of narrowing their differences.

Park Soo-geun, chair of the Central Labor Commission (CLC), told reporters outside the commission’s meeting room at the Government Complex Sejong that the situation remained “on parallel tracks.”

When asked later whether there had been any progress, Park reiterated that the parties were “on parallel tracks,” and said the CLC had not yet issued a mediation proposal.

Park added that officials should still aim to prevent a strike.

Choi Seung-ho, chair of Samsung Group’s cross-company labor union at Samsung Electronics, left the meeting room at 6:25 p.m. — 35 minutes early — saying, “We negotiated in good faith today. I plan to return at 10 a.m. tomorrow.” He declined to answer questions about whether common ground had been found.

Management representatives Yeo Myung-gu, head of the People Team for DS (Device Solutions, the semiconductor division), and Vice President Kim Hyung-ro also left the complex without responding to reporters’ questions.

Park Jung-beom, head of mediation at the CLC, said the talks were confidential and he could not disclose details, but added that the parties were “moving toward common ground.”

In the closed second post-adjustment session, both sides set out their positions in the morning and, in the afternoon, began substantive talks on key disputes, including the criteria for the performance bonus pool and any cap on payouts.

The second post-adjustment session is scheduled to resume on the 19th from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

If discussions run late, the meeting could extend beyond the scheduled end time. The first post-adjustment session on the 11th–12th ran well past midnight and only concluded in the early hours of the 13th.

Although both sides held consecutive preparatory meetings over the weekend, they remain divided over bonus transparency, removing the cap, and how to institutionalize the bonus system.

With only three days remaining before the union’s announced strike date, this mediation is widely viewed as the last realistic chance for a negotiated settlement.

The government signaled the possibility of invoking emergency mediation powers the previous day to prevent a strike, but labor groups, including the Samsung union, have pushed back.