48,000 Workers to Stage Nationwide Strike Beginning Tomorrow, Country at Risk of Collapse

An estimated 48,000 Samsung Electronics workers will stage a nationwide strike starting Thursday, 21 May, in South Korea, with the walkout expected to last up to 18 days. The strike, a protest against the pay and bonus scheme, demands greater transparency based on performance. Negotiations between management and the labour union have taken place several times but have not reached an agreement. The South Korean government has also intervened as mediator, warning that the strike could threaten South Korea’s economic stability and global semiconductor supply. Choi Seung-ho, head of the union, said the 18-day strike would continue because management has not conceded on a key outstanding issue in the government-mediated talks. He said: ‘We have received the final proposal laid out by the government mediator. We express deep regret and disappointment, but the union intends to continue the strike in accordance with the law,’ Reuters quoted on Wednesday, 20 May 2026. Samsung management said the union’s demands are unacceptable; one is the level of bonuses for units that incur losses. ‘The reason the agreement couldn’t be reached is the union’s excessive demands that would undermine the basic principles of corporate management,’ said a Samsung representative. Shares in the South Korean conglomerate fell 3.1% after the news. The union is demanding Samsung abolish the cap on bonuses at 50% of annual salary, and allocate 15% of annual operating profit to bonuses. They want these changes formalised for more than a year. The Korean government last weekend threatened to intervene and order emergency arbitration, a rarely used step that would suspend the strike for up to 30 days while talks continue. Samsung accounts for almost a quarter of South Korea’s exports and is the world’s largest memory-chip maker; disruptions could reduce global supply at a time when the AI boom has caused a memory-chip shortage crisis worldwide.