According to South Korean media reports, the second round of post-mediation labor negotiations between Samsung Electronics and its union broke down on the 13th, with the union announcing it will proceed with the general strike as scheduled.
The "cross-enterprise union," which includes over half of Samsung Electronics' employees, and management held marathon negotiations lasting 17 hours, from 10 a.m. on the 12th to 3 a.m. on the 13th, but failed to reach an agreement. The union demanded that management ensure transparency in performance bonus distribution criteria and abolish the cap on performance bonuses. As both demands were rejected, the strike will begin as planned on the 21st.
To date, 41,000 union members have expressed their intention to participate in the strike. However, considering management's attitude during negotiations, the number of participants could further increase to over 50,000. If the strike ultimately takes place, it could cause losses of up to 40 trillion won (approximately 181.2 billion yuan). In the medium to long term, it may also lead to customer attrition and damage the supply chain.
It is reported that the government may consider exercising its emergency mediation power. Article 76 of South Korea's Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act stipulates that if a labor dispute poses a serious threat to the daily lives of citizens or the national economy, the Minister of Employment and Labor can exercise emergency mediation power, banning disputing actions for 30 days and initiating mediation and arbitration procedures through the Central Labor Relations Commission.
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