Workers Threaten Strike Over Rp7 Billion Bonus as Others Remain Struggling

Workers’ struggle has finally borne fruit in South Korea. An 18-day mass strike threat successfully pressured Samsung Electronics into negotiations, reaching a compromise. Chip division workers demanded fair and transparent salary and bonus schemes, given Samsung’s strong chip business performance due to soaring demand amid the memory chip shortage crisis. Samsung is the world’s largest memory chip producer. Surging demand has propelled its market capitalisation to $1 trillion. Workers felt Samsung’s significant chip business growth did not align with improved welfare. After tough negotiations, an agreement was reached, postponing the national strike. On Friday (22 May), Samsung workers in South Korea began voting on a payment agreement ensuring a hefty bonus for chip division staff. However, new issues arose. Employees in other divisions, not as fortunate as chip workers, plan to oppose the large bonus scheme for a select few. The union threatening mass strike is led by chip division representatives, known as the Samsung Electronics Labor Union (SELU). SELU representatives said 32,882 of 57,290 eligible members voted, but details of the vote were not disclosed. Approval requires a majority of eligible members to vote in favour and a majority of members to participate. Otherwise, negotiations must restart. The total number of eligible Samsung union members is unclear as some employees belong to multiple unions. SELU rules also state that members in arrears with union dues cannot vote. Hefty Bonus Only for Some Workers The agreement between Samsung management and SELU primarily benefits memory chip division workers, whose profits have surged amid the AI boom. Some workers will receive a bonus of approximately $416,000 (Rp7.3 billion) this year, according to Reuters on Monday (25 May 2026). Workers in Samsung’s foundry and logic chip units will receive significantly smaller but still substantial bonuses, while those in other divisions such as smartphones and home appliances will get even smaller amounts. “This round of negotiations has essentially been reduced to bargaining over bonuses for the memory chip division,” said Lee Ho-seop, a leader of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), at a press conference on Friday (22 May). He added that “the outcome was rushed”. Another union, Samsung Electronics Co Union (SECU), also attended the press conference on Friday (22 May). It is unclear whether SECU’s members, including chip and non-chip workers, were eligible to vote, as disagreements with other union blocs led SECU to leave negotiations before the agreement was reached. Samsung declined to comment on complaints from NSEU and SECU regarding the agreement. The online vote, conducted until 10:00 AM on 27 May 2026. Samsung’s shares closed 2.3% lower on Friday (22 May) after hitting a record high earlier that day. Shares surged 8.5% on Thursday (21 May) following the union agreement.