Jun Young-hyun, Samsung Electronics CEO (vice chairman) and head of the DS (semiconductor) division, along with the presidents' group and Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), visited the Samsung Electronics Joint Struggle Headquarters, which has announced it will launch a strike, to hear their views.
The Joint Struggle Headquarters is a coalition of the Samsung Group supra-company union's Samsung Electronics chapter (the supra-company union), which holds a majority, and the No. 2 union, the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union, and it is leading the push to press ahead with a strike. The union side is holding to the position that full-scale talks can resume only if "performance bonus transparency, removal of the cap, and institutionalization" are placed on the agenda.
According to Samsung Electronics on the 15th, the DS institutional sector presidents' group, including the vice chairman, visited the Pyeongtaek complex to meet with the union leadership. The meeting, held at the union office at the Pyeongtaek complex, was attended by the vice chairman and Presidents Kim Yong-kwan, Han Jin-man, and Park Yong-in. From the Samsung Electronics Joint Struggle Headquarters, Chairperson Choi Seung-ho, Vice Chairperson Lee Song-yi, Director General Kim Jae-won, and Director General Jeong Seung-won attended.
The DS presidents' group, including the vice chairman, conveyed that they "will talk with the union with an open attitude." They proposed not launching a strike and resuming negotiations. Regarding this meeting, the union side said, "Employees have no trust whatsoever in management," and noted, "We emphasized that the agenda must include performance bonus transparency, removal of the cap, and institutionalization."
Following the DS presidents' group, the Minister also visited the Samsung Electronics union. On this, the union side said, "We explained the course of negotiations so far, Samsung Electronics' business structure, and the current core issues," and added, "We exchanged candid views on the overall status of negotiations." It continued, "The Minister deeply empathized with the union's position and said the union's views would be clearly conveyed to management," and noted, "We requested that, to resume negotiations, the company replace its chief negotiator and first make a substantive change in its stance."
The Samsung Electronics union has announced it will launch a general strike for 18 days from the 21st to July 7, demanding that performance bonuses be funded with 15% of operating profit and that the removal of the cap be institutionalized. Samsung Electronics labor and management conducted post-mediation at the Central Labor Relations Commission at the Government Sejong Complex from the morning of the 11th until the early hours of the 13th. The post-mediation, carried out under government arbitration, broke down at the union's request to halt. After the post-mediation collapsed, management sent an official letter to the union proposing "direct talks," but Chairperson Choi said, "We are willing to discuss after June 7. We intend to exercise the rights guaranteed by the Constitution." In effect, the union indicated it would enter talks with management after the general strike.