Overview
- Samsung’s unions drew a crowd they counted at 37,000 to 40,000 at the Pyeongtaek chip campus on Thursday, the largest demonstration yet in a dispute over pay and bonuses.
- Workers want the 50% cap on performance bonuses scrapped, 15% of annual operating profit set aside for bonuses, and a 7% base-salary increase, while management has offered a 10% profit allocation and targeted payouts.
- Union leaders set May 21 to June 7 for a possible 18-day strike if no deal is reached, and experts warn a stoppage could delay AI memory chip shipments, lift prices, and hand rivals an edge.
- Samsung sought a court injunction on April 16 to block occupations of production lines, and a small group of retail shareholders protested the union’s demands outside the campus before the rally.
- Union membership has surged to more than 90,000 since 2024, exceeding 70% of Samsung’s South Korean workforce, fueled by comparisons to SK Hynix, which removed its bonus cap and paid larger awards.