The Samsung Electronics union said on the 20th that it failed to reach a deal with management and will go on a general strike on the 21st as planned. In response, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said it was still premature to consider invoking the "emergency adjustment" power to forcibly halt the strike and noted it would support autonomous bargaining between labor and management until the strike begins.
At an emergency briefing for the press corps that day, a Labor Ministry official said, "We find it very regrettable that the second post-mediation by the National Labor Relations Commission fell through," adding, "With time still left until the strike, under the basic principle of resolving issues through dialogue between the parties, the government will provide maximum support for an autonomous negotiation without being bound by form."
When reporters asked whether the legal review to invoke the emergency adjustment power had been completed, the official said, "There is still time for the two sides to talk, so we think that would be premature." When asked whether invoking the emergency adjustment power before the general strike had been considered, the official said, "There is still time for labor and management to negotiate autonomously."
Under the chair of the National Labor Relations Commission, labor and management at Samsung Electronics held post-mediation from the 18th to the 20th but failed to reach an agreement. There remains a possibility that the two sides will additionally apply to the commission for post-mediation.
The emergency adjustment power the government is considering invoking is based on Article 76 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act. Under Article 76, the Minister of Employment and Labor (MOEL) may invoke the emergency adjustment power when a labor dispute act is likely to significantly damage the national economy or endanger the daily lives of the public.
If the emergency adjustment power is invoked, the union must immediately halt dispute actions, and strikes are banned for 30 days. Continuing strike actions during this period may lead to investigation on suspicion of violating the law. For 30 days, labor and management must resume negotiations, and if no agreement is reached, the chair of the National Labor Relations Commission will decide ex officio to refer the case to arbitration. Once an arbitration plan is issued, labor and management must follow it.
The emergency adjustment power has been invoked four times so far: during the 1969 Daehan Shipbuilding strike, the 1993 Hyundai Motor strike, and the Asiana Airlines and Korean Air Lines pilot strikes in July and December 2005. Analysts say the ripple effects of the Samsung Electronics general strike on the national economy would be far greater than those earlier cases.