Samsung Electronics on the 16th filed for an injunction with the Suwon District Court to ban the labor union's illegal strike, seeking a "provisional disposition to prohibit unlawful industrial action."
According to the industry, Samsung Electronics is said to have pursued the injunction to prevent significant managerial losses and negative effects on the national economy. The company regarded the union's strike as "unlawful industrial action" and moved to respond aggressively.
Samsung Electronics currently operates under a multiple-union system with five unions active. Among them, the larger ones — ▲ Samsung Group supra-enterprise labor union Samsung Electronics chapter (supra-enterprise union) ▲ National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (Jeonsamno) ▲ Samsung Electronics Donghaeng Union — formed a joint bargaining group and negotiated with management for about three months on the 2026 wage and collective agreement, but talks broke down in February. They then formed a joint struggle headquarters and, after securing a majority in a vote on industrial action in March, announced they would launch a "general strike in May." They also plan to hold a rally on the 21st.
In response, management sought to resolve the conflict by proposing that if the DS (semiconductor) institutional sector wins the No. 1 position in the domestic industry, it would provide compensation exceeding the cap on Over-Profit Incentives (OPI) through special rewards. However, the union insisted on a permanent removal of the cap through institutional changes. The union is increasing pressure, currently demanding 15% of operating profit as a performance bonus.
◇ Even with a 540 million won performance bonus proposal… union says "we will expand occupation of business sites"
If the proposal Samsung Electronics made to the union had been implemented, the performance bonus for employees in the memory business unit would average 540 million won per person. That equals 600% of the average annual salary.
Even so, leaders of the Samsung Electronics joint struggle headquarters posted on social media (SNS), saying, "We will expand occupation of all business sites," and claimed, "If the strike succeeds for 18 days, backup and recovery will take more than a full month, and 30 trillion won in losses will occur." In particular, on a YouTube broadcast, they said, "If there is anyone working for the company, we will keep a list and give them priority notice for forced reassignment or dismissal that may later require consultation with the union," sparking controversy. The remarks effectively forced union members to participate in the strike.
Samsung Electronics viewed the union's industrial action as conduct prohibited by law. The Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act bans actions such as ▲ obstructing normal operation of safety protection facilities (Article 42, Paragraph 2) ▲ halting work to prevent equipment damage and raw material or product deterioration (Article 38, Paragraph 2) ▲ occupying key establishment facilities such as production lines (Article 42, Paragraph 1) ▲ coercing participation in industrial action through threats (Article 38, Paragraph 1).
The Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act also stipulates that violence or threats must not be used when persuading participation in industrial action. The union faces allegations that it is effectively using a "blacklist" management method by operating a "reporting center" to monitor nonparticipants or employees cooperative with management and saying it would pay rewards to tipsters. If such acts actually occurred, they would constitute a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act.
◇ Up to 10 trillion won in losses expected if an 18-day strike is realized
Semiconductor business sites are legally considered safety protection facilities. They are also facilities where occupation is prohibited. They handle large volumes of toxic and flammable gases and strong acid and strong alkali chemicals, and if exhaust and disaster-prevention facilities do not operate properly, the damage can spread to surrounding communities.
Samsung Electronics performs security operations to prevent deterioration and spoilage of wafers. It also carries out procedures to prevent damage to work facilities. If such work is halted during industrial action, wafers costing tens of millions of won per piece will deteriorate or spoil. If physical or functional damage occurs to semiconductor equipment costing up to 500 billion won per unit, restoration may be difficult. Because semiconductor equipment requires highly complex backup procedures to guarantee process quality when restarting after a power shutdown, recovery can take months.
In 2018, when a power outage of less than 30 minutes occurred at the Pyeongtaek campus, losses of 50 billion won were incurred. A semiconductor industry official said, "If an 18-day strike takes place, the scale of damage would be hard to imagine," adding, "Losses are estimated at a minimum of 5 trillion won to as much as 10 trillion won."
A business community official said, "Even though Samsung Electronics' proposal is already the highest in the industry, the union's refusal and its forecast of extreme struggle using illegal means lacks justification," adding, "What the union needs now is not unreasonable demands backed by a strike with a weak legal basis, but a willingness to resolve the issue through dialogue."