Samsung Workers Agree Pay and Bonus Deal, Avert Major Strike

More than 70% of Samsung Electronics union members approved a temporary wage agreement reached between the union and management on Wednesday (27 May 2026). Citing Korea Times, the agreement marks the easing of a prolonged dispute over performance bonuses and compensation policies that had caused tensions for months. According to the union, 55,333 out of 57,332 eligible members of the Samsung Electronics Workers’ Union participated in the vote, with 44,606 supporting the deal, representing an 80.6% approval rate. In the National Samsung Electronics Workers’ Union, 7,283 out of 8,261 members voted, with 1,536 approving the deal, a 21.1% approval rate. The combined approval rate reached 73.7%, exceeding the required majority threshold for ratification. The temporary agreement was signed on 20 May, just hours before the union was scheduled to hold a general strike the following day. Voting on the deal took place between 22 and 27 May. The deal centres on a special management performance bonus exclusively offered to employees in the Device Solutions division, which produces chips. Under the agreement, the bonus will be funded by 10.5% of the company’s operating profits and paid in treasury shares. The agreement is expected to temporarily resolve the labour dispute that has persisted since last year. The Samsung Electronics Company Workers’ Union, the third-largest union largely composed of employees from the Device Experience division producing devices, filed a court order on Tuesday to halt the voting process and plans to file a separate lawsuit to annul the deal. Under the agreement, the company will establish a special management bonus fund equivalent to 10.5% of the semiconductor business’s operating profits. Payments will be made to employees in the Device Solutions division, which oversees Samsung’s chip operations. If Samsung Electronics records operating profits of 300 trillion won (Rp 3.562 trillion) this year, memory business employees earning an annual salary of 100 million won could receive approximately 550 million won in pre-tax special management bonuses, paid in company shares. Combined with the company’s regular excess profit incentive, capped at 50% of annual salary, total performance-related compensation could reach around 600 million won. According to The Korea Herald on 27 May 2026, the temporary wage and bonus agreement for Samsung Electronics in 2026 was reached a week after labour and management narrowly avoided a planned strike with a last-minute deal.