Samsung Electronics on the 16th filed for an injunction with the Suwon District Court to ban the union's illegal strike, seeking a "prohibition of unlawful industrial action."
According to the industry, Samsung Electronics is said to have submitted the injunction to prevent significant managerial losses and negative impacts on the national economy. The company views the union's strike as "unlawful industrial action" and has moved to respond proactively.
Samsung Electronics currently has a multiple-union system with five unions active. Among them, the larger ones — ▲ Samsung Group Trans-Enterprise Labor Union Samsung Electronics Branch (trans-enterprise union) ▲ National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (Jeonsamno) ▲ Samsung Electronics Companion Union — formed a joint bargaining committee and negotiated with management for about three months over the 2026 wage and collective agreement, but broke off talks in Feb. Afterward, they set up a joint struggle headquarters and, in a vote on industrial action held in Mar., won a majority in favor and announced a "May general strike." They also plan to hold a rally on the 23rd.
In response, management sought to defuse tensions by proposing that if the DS (semiconductor) institutional sector achieves No. 1 in the domestic industry, it would provide compensation exceeding the upper limit of the over-profit incentive (OPI) through special rewards. However, the union insisted on a permanent abolition of the cap through a system change. The union is increasing pressure, currently demanding 15% of operating profit as incentives.
◇ Even with a 540 million won incentive proposal… union says "we will expand occupations of business sites"
If the negotiation plan proposed by Samsung Electronics to the union were implemented, the incentive for employees in the memory division would average 540 million won per person. That amounts to 600% of the average annual salary.
Even so, the leadership of the Samsung Electronics joint struggle headquarters said, "We will expand the occupation of all business sites," and also posted on social media (SNS) the claim that "if we succeed with an 18-day strike, backup and recovery will take more than a full month and a 30 trillion won loss will occur." In particular, through a YouTube broadcast, they said, "If there is anyone working for the company, we will manage the list and give priority notice for forced reassignment or dismissal that will require consultation with the union later," sparking controversy. The remarks effectively coerced 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 ▲ interference with the normal operation of safety protection facilities (Article 42 Paragraph 2) ▲ suspension of work to prevent equipment damage and deterioration of raw materials and products (Article 38 Paragraph 2) ▲ occupation of key facilities at business sites 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" method by operating a "report center" to monitor non-participants or employees cooperative with management and even saying it would pay rewards to tipsters. If such actions actually took place, they would constitute a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act.
◇ Up to 10 trillion won in losses projected if an 18-day strike occurs
Semiconductor business sites are, by law, safety protection facilities. They are also facilities where occupations are prohibited. They handle large volumes of toxic and flammable gases and strong acid and strong alkali chemicals, and if exhaust and prevention systems do not function properly, the harm can spread to surrounding communities.
Samsung Electronics carries out safeguarding work to prevent the deterioration and spoilage of wafers. It also conducts procedures to prevent damage to work facilities. If such work is halted during industrial action, wafers costing tens of millions of won each will deteriorate and spoil. If physical or functional damage occurs to semiconductor equipment worth up to 500 billion won per unit, restoration can be difficult. Semiconductor equipment requires very complex backup procedures to guarantee process quality when restarting after power shutdown, leading to recovery periods of several months.
When a power outage of less than 30 minutes occurred at the Pyeongtaek campus in 2018, damages 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 a maximum of 10 trillion won."
A business community official said, "Samsung Electronics' proposal is already at the industry's highest level, yet the union has rejected it and signaled extreme struggle using unlawful means, which lacks justification," adding, "What the union needs now is not unreasonable demands backed by a strike with weak legal grounds, but an attitude of resolving the issue through dialogue."