The supra-enterprise labor union Samsung Electronics branch (supra-enterprise union), the first majority single union formed since Samsung Electronics was founded, declared on the 19th that wage talks had broken down due to differences in positions.
The joint bargaining team, including the supra-enterprise union, the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union, and the Samsung Electronics Union Donghaeng, said that it "officially declares the breakdown of 2026 wage negotiations and will file for mediation with the National Labor Relations Commission." The joint bargaining team will submit an application for labor dispute mediation on the 20th. The policy is to secure the right to strike in case the mediation results fall short of expectations.
In these talks, the joint bargaining team demanded that the occurrence range for the excess profit incentive (OPI) be fixed at three years, and that any performance exceeding the 50% OPI threshold be compensated at or above competitor levels. It also proposed that the share of excess performance be set at 50% for the institutional sector and 50% for the business unit so that excess performance profits are shared.
The management reportedly proposed to announce at the start of the year the operating profit that triggers OPI, and to divide the 0–50% OPI range into 10% increments to provide the projected operating profit. It also proposed that if the DS institutional sector ranks No. 1 domestically in sales and operating profit this year, excess profits would be paid per 1 trillion won in operating profit, with the method of payment being entirely in stock.
Samsung Electronics said it will continue consultations with the union to ensure smooth wage negotiations.