The Blue House on the 20th said it was grateful for the labor and management's "broad, forward-looking decision for the nation and the people" on the tentative agreement in the 2026 wage talks at Samsung Electronics.
A Blue House official said the outcome "is viewed as the result of efforts by government officials, including the Minister of Labor, who mediated until the end." Earlier, labor and management at Samsung Electronics had continued talks without narrowing differences over key issues, including how to allocate bonuses among business divisions.
As even the post-adjustment by the Central Labor Relations Commission fell apart that morning, concerns grew that the general strike the union had warned of for the 21st might become a reality.
Immediately after the post-adjustment collapsed, Chief Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said it was "very regrettable," adding, "Even up to the final deadline, we hope both labor and management will do their utmost to reach agreement to the very end, considering the concerns for the impact on the Korean economy."
As the situation took a serious turn, Kim Young-hoon, Minister of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), personally stepped in as a mediator and made a final push to broker a deal.
After labor and management reached a tentative agreement just before the planned launch of a general strike, the Minister, Kim, said in a briefing, "On behalf of the government, I extend deep thanks to labor and management at Samsung Electronics for not letting go of the thread of dialogue until the end and arriving at a tentative agreement through autonomous talks."
He added, "We hope the members of Samsung Electronics will once again work devotedly at their workplaces as befits a 'company of the people,' and that, 'the Samsung way,' they will resolve this well so it can become part of the process of leading the Republic of Korea."
Regarding the mediation process, the Minister, Kim, said, "Under the fundamental principle that this issue must be resolved through dialogue, the government held a firm position that it should, in any form, promote and support dialogue without being bound by formalities," adding, "When the post-adjustment fell apart in the morning, we sounded out both labor and management, and judged there was sufficient willingness to talk."
He added that "labor and management each yielded a step to find a solution." Meanwhile, the tentative agreement reached by labor and management at Samsung Electronics is set to be finalized after a vote by union members from the 22nd to the 27th.