Samsung Strike Losses Estimated at 30 Trillion Won; Restarting Production Lines After Walkout Could Take 2–3 Weeks

According to South Korean media reports, Samsung Electronics' union estimates that the 18-day strike could cause losses of up to 30 trillion won. This figure includes an estimated 18 trillion won reduction in operating profit (1 trillion won per day), plus 12 trillion won in losses resulting from the time needed to return to normal operations after the strike ends. Due to the nature of semiconductor manufacturing processes, production lines will require a considerable amount of time to resume normal operation even after the strike ends. Hundreds of precision machines performing nanometer-level processes need recalibration, defective wafers must be discarded, and yields need to be improved until products meet target quality standards. All of them requires a stabilization period. Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, said: "Assuming the worst-case scenario, even if the strike ends, restarting the automated production lines and resuming normal operations would most likely take two to three weeks."