Debate over the exclusion of DX (finished goods) keeps erupting inside the Samsung Electronics labor union. The phenomenon stems from the supra-company labor union's Samsung Electronics chapter, which holds a majority within the Samsung Group supra-company union, emphasizing compensation centered on the DS (semiconductors) division. As a result, minority unions have been repeatedly requesting formal apologies from the supra-company union, intensifying conflict between semiconductor and non-semiconductor members.
According to the industry on the 8th, the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union (Jeonsamno), the No. 2 union at Samsung Electronics, sent an official letter the previous day to the supra-company union titled "expression of regret and request for apology over threatening remarks about excluding negotiations for activities to gather member opinions." In the letter, Jeonsamno said, "Branch chief Lee Ho-seok (of Jeonsamno), who credit entry the voices of DX division members, has listened to the voices of frontline members conveyed through channels such as the 'Samsung Electronics wage talks DX chatroom' and carried out legitimate communication activities to gather them," adding, "Chairperson Choi Seung-ho of the supra-company union took issue with this on-the-ground communication process and made remarks to the effect that Jeonsamno would be 'excluded from negotiations' if there was no apology."
It added, "This goes beyond a simple attack on an individual to an act of erasing the voices of DX division members from the bargaining table," and "It has once again seriously undermined trust between workers and between unions by shrinking the duties of a representative who should credit entry members' will." Jeonsamno also said, "We express deep concern and regret over the attitude of trying to gag even legitimate internal voices with the pressure of exclusion from talks," and requested a formal apology from Chairperson Choi.
Jeonsamno also disclosed the contents of the members' KakaoTalk group chat that Chairperson Choi took issue with. In the process of discussing items such as "DX compensation" there, Branch chief Lee said, "They say Choi Seung-ho is protected at a guru level in DS," and, "With Jeonsamno's current strength, it seems insufficient and unrealistic to push aside Choi Seung-ho." He added, "When DX negotiators repeatedly talked about (strengthening DX compensation) during internal discussions, the union excluded Donghaeng (the union) from the bargaining table altogether for being displeased."
Chairperson Choi said, in effect, that if there was no apology for those remarks, Jeonsamno would be "excluded from negotiations," which Jeonsamno says is problematic behavior. Jeonsamno currently has about 17,000 members.
Earlier, on the 4th, the Samsung Electronics Labor Union Donghaeng (Donghaeng union) also sent an official letter to the two unions stating it would no longer participate in the joint bargaining team. The reason was that "there has been no response to date even to proposals and requests for agenda items for the rights and interests of all members, not just those in a particular field." Donghaeng union, which has about 2,300 members, is composed of roughly 70% from the DX institutional sector, which handles businesses such as home appliances, smartphones, and TVs.
Donghaeng union also demanded a formal apology from the supra-company union the previous day. Donghaeng union said, "In the past, the supra-company union abused its authority as the majority union to deliberately ignore or exclude our union's opinions, and even continued disparagement that falls under Article 311 (insult) of the Criminal Act," adding, "This can only be interpreted as an intent to exclude and deny the very existence of our union, going beyond simple union-to-union conflict."
The supra-company union, Jeonsamno, and Donghaeng union formed a joint bargaining team in Nov. last year and have been negotiating with management over the 2026 wage and collective agreement (wage and group agreement). After talks broke down in Feb., the three unions formed a new joint struggle headquarters and held a strike ballot that won a majority in favor. They have announced an 18-day general strike starting on the 21st. On top of Donghaeng union's departure from this process, Jeonsamno has also taken issue with the supra-company union's communication method, deepening labor-labor conflict.
Amid criticism that the supra-company union is demanding only performance bonuses centered on the semiconductor institutional sector, withdrawals are spreading among DX division employees. The number of members who had exceeded 76,000 in the supra-company union has fallen to the 73,000 range. About 80% of all members of the supra-company union belong to the DS institutional sector.