The nationwide Samsung Electronics labor union (Jeonsamnoro), the largest union of Samsung Electronics, has experienced internal strife, causing its membership to fall below 30,000.
According to the industry on the 3rd, as of 10 a.m. on that day, the membership of Jeonsamnoro is 29,944. Following a general strike last July, the number surpassed 30,000, but it has now dropped below that threshold about a year later.
Jeonsamnoro rapidly increased its membership after launching its first general strike since the company's establishment in 1967, citing reasons such as raising the wage increase rate, fulfilling promises of paid leave, and improving criteria for the excess profit bonus (OPI) last July.
However, the number of members began to decline following a controversial side agreement between the management and the executive team in the 2025 wage and collective bargaining agreement, which featured an average wage increase rate of 5.1% (basic increase rate of 3.0%, performance increase rate of 2.1%), signed in March of this year.
After the signing of the wage negotiations at that time, it became known that the executive team had set a higher performance increase rate for the standing executive team through a separate agreement with management, leading to internal conflicts within the union. In fact, the number of members, which stood at 36,000 until March, plummeted by more than 6,000 in just about four months.
Feeling responsible, the third executive team resigned completely with about nine months remaining in their term, and Jeonsamnoro has transitioned to a committee system. However, it is expected that Jeonsamnoro will continue to hold a representative bargaining position as the largest union, which accounts for 23% of all Samsung Electronics employees (approximately 125,000). There are concerns within the union that it could lose momentum in the wage negotiations scheduled for the second half of this year, indicating an urgent need for system stabilization.
Accordingly, the union is expected to rush internal stabilization efforts, such as filling the vacant executive positions. Originally scheduled for September, the elections for the fourth-term new executives will likely take place as soon as July or August.