A claim that a new employee, presumed to be in Samsung Electronics semiconductor (DS) institutional sector, left a mocking comment toward a 20-year veteran has spread online. The controversy has grown amid claims that the employee was identified and issued a public apology.
On the 4th, multiple posts appeared on online communities and social media (SNS) claiming that a new hire in the Samsung Electronics memory division left a derisive comment for a 20-year senior-level employee in the foundry (contract chip manufacturing) division.
According to the posts, a senior-level employee in the foundry division reportedly posted on the in-house bulletin board about the company's situation and future direction. The controversy began after an anonymous writer left a comment essentially saying, "Stop whining and resign."
The poster claimed the commenter's identity was determined through past in-house posts, including one requesting a bus route. In the process, speculation also spread that the writer is a new employee who joined the memory institutional sector this year.
There were also claims online that the commenter's in-house account, contact information, and academic background were shared. As the controversy grew, the employee identified as the commenter reportedly posted an apology under their real name on the in-house board. Some said the employee was interviewed by human resources. A post also spread claiming an executive in the department issued a notice urging employees to watch their online remarks.
In the industry, some interpret the controversy as being related to recent compensation conflicts inside Samsung Electronics. Within the DS institutional sector, expectations that the bonus gap between the memory and nonmemory divisions will widen have fueled discontent among employees in nonmemory units such as foundry and System LSI.
According to the tentative wage deal reached by labor and management at Samsung Electronics, DS institutional sector special management performance bonuses will be paid differentially by division performance. Assuming Samsung Electronics posts operating profit of 300 trillion won, projections said memory division employees could receive up to about 600 million won when combining the special management performance bonus and the excess profit incentive (OPI). In contrast, the special management performance bonus available to employees in nonmemory divisions such as foundry and System LSI was estimated at up to around 160 million won.
Dissatisfaction continues within the DS institutional sector over the gap. On anonymous communities and online spaces used by Samsung Electronics employees, posts reportedly said that foundry and System LSI technology development staff with master's and doctoral degrees receive less than those in common organizations. A nickname even emerged twisting the phrase "deficit division" into "fold-up division."
Discontent over differentiated bonuses is also affecting the union landscape. Samsung Electronics' largest union, the Samsung Group supra-enterprise labor union Samsung Electronics chapter (supra-enterprise union), lost its majority status as members left following the wage deal. Industry watchers say departures by Device eXperience (DX) institutional sector employees and nonmemory division staff within the DS institutional sector, who opposed the bonus gap, played a major role.
Membership in the supra-enterprise union once exceeded 76,000 but fell quickly after the deal was reached last month. As of the afternoon of the 4th, membership had dropped to the 58,000 range. With membership falling below half of all Samsung Electronics employees, its status as the workers' representative is on shaky ground.