With the Samsung Electronics labor union starting a strike-authorization vote on the 9th, labor-management tensions are flaring again. As the possibility of an all-out strike is mentioned depending on the vote results, attention is also turning to the potential impact on semiconductor production schedules.
According to the industry on the 8th, the joint struggle headquarters of the Samsung Electronics union will hold a strike-authorization vote of all members from the 9th to the 18th. The joint headquarters includes the Samsung Electronics Branch, the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union, and the Samsung Electronics Union Donghaeng, and the membership is said to be around 89,000.
In a prior online broadcast, the union said that if the vote passes by a majority and secures the right to strike, it plans to hold a members' rally on Apr. 23 and push for an 18-day general strike from May 21 to Jun. 7.
Union remarks surrounding participation in the strike are also stirring controversy. Chairperson Choi Seung-ho of the supra-enterprise union said on YouTube, "During the general strike, the entire executive leadership plans to occupy the Pyeongtaek office to hold rallies and will recruit staff to manage and supervise all offices at the Pyeongtaek site," adding, "If there are people working for the company, we will manage a list and will guide them first to forced transfers or dismissals that require consultation with the union later."
The union also mentioned operating a channel to report employees who are cooperative with the company. Observers say this is raising the pressure on those who do not join the strike.
The conflict escalated after the 2026 wage negotiations finally broke down. The union demanded transparency in the calculation of the excess profit incentive (OPI) and the removal of the cap, and also adjusted and presented a base pay raise plan. The company, meanwhile, proposed improvements to the OPI calculation method along with pay raises, grants of treasury shares, and special rewards, but the two sides could not narrow differences on key issues.
If Samsung Electronics actually launches a general strike, it would be the second time after 2024. While the feared production disruptions did not materialize during the first strike then, some say this time could be different. That is because the number of union members has grown significantly, and a large share of members belong to the DS division, which handles the semiconductor business.
The industry is particularly watching the impact on high bandwidth memory (HBM) production. Samsung Electronics recently began mass production and shipments of HBM4 and is also producing products for Nvidia's next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator "Vera Rubin." Because HBM takes months from wafer input to shipment of finished goods, there are concerns that if a general strike in May materializes, it could burden production schedules and supply plans.