Korea's AI boom is outrunning its safeguards, exposing widening governance gap SEOUL, May 03 (AJP) - Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging technology in South Korea. It is already embedded across offices, software engineering, media production, education and financial services at one of the fastest rates in the world. The problem, experts increasingly warn, is that the systems designed to govern that transformation are evolving far more slowly than the technology itself. “Many organizations claim to have ethical frameworks, but few can demonstrate them through concrete diagnostics or formalized processes,” Lyse Langlois, director of the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology at Laval University, said during a seminar on AI ethics and safety at Korea University last Thursday. Her warning came as data place South Korea rapidly emerging as one of the world’s most AI-intensive economies. According to Anthropic’s Economic Index released in January, South Korea accounted for 3.06 percent of global Claude AI usage, placing it among the top five AI-using countries alongside the United States, India, Japan and the United Kingdom. Based on approximately one million real-world AI conversations collected in late 2025, the dataset offers one of the clearest snapshots yet of how AI is being integrated into economic activity. What stood out is not merely the scale of Korean AI usage, but its concentration inside professional workflows. More than half, or 51.1 percent, of Korean AI interactions were work-related — the highest proportion among East Asian economies analyzed, exceeding Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. Korea is no longer experimenting with AI at the margins. It is integrating the technology directly into knowledge-intensive production. Software debugging and optimization emerged as one of the country’s largest AI use categories, followed by multimedia content creation, educational support and research assistance. Computer and mathematics-related professions accounted for the largest share of AI users at 25.6 percent, followed by arts, design and media at 14.9 percent, followed by arts, media and education and library-related roles at 13.4 percent. The findings align with broader structural shifts identified by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), which analyzed Anthropic’s January data and concluded that AI in South Korea is evolving beyond simple automation toward collaborative augmentation. Between August and November 2025, Korea recorded the sharpest decline among East Asian peers in tasks fully delegated to AI, while collaborative human-AI interaction rose sharply. The shift suggests Korean workers are increasingly using AI not as a replacement tool, but as a partner embedded inside complex judgment work. That transition could generate major productivity gains. KIEP projected AI adoption could significantly lift long-term labor productivity growth, particularly in advanced knowledge sectors. But researchers also warned the effects may be uneven, producing simultaneous “deskilling” in routine work and “upskilling” in highly specialized professions. Yet Korea’s institutional safeguards are lagging far behind the scale of that transformation. “AI safety is becoming a matter of building measurable, enforceable and continuously evolving systems,” Lim Ji-hoon, professor at Korea University’s Graduate School of Information Security, said during the seminar. Lim warned that AI risks are changing rapidly as systems evolve beyond passive chatbots into increasingly autonomous “agent-based” models capable of independently planning actions, accessing tools and interacting with external systems. Such systems dramatically expand risks tied to cyberattacks, misinformation, fraud and data misuse, particularly in data-rich economies like South Korea. The frequencies of data breaches already flag the danger. Over the past year, South Korea has suffered a series of major data breaches exposing weaknesses in the country’s digital governance infrastructure. Lotte Card suffered a large-scale personal data leak that led regulators last week to slap a roughly 4.5-month business suspension and a fine of around 5 billion won ($3.6 million). Separate breaches at Coupang and matchmaking company Duo exposed large volumes of highly sensitive information, including names, workplace details, religion, physical characteristics and phone numbers. The Duo breach particularly alarmed regulators because the company failed to promptly notify users and retained hundreds of thousands of outdated records containing resident registration information. Experts at the seminar repeatedly stressed that such incidents carry fundamentally different implications in the AI era. In traditional digital systems, data leaks primarily created risks of identity theft or financial fraud. In AI-intensive environments, however, large-scale structured personal data can become training material, profiling infrastructure or targeting input for automated systems capable of operating at industrial scale. That convergence — mass data exposure meeting rapidly advancing AI capability — increasingly defines the urgency surrounding AI governance debates in South Korea. Yet despite its high adoption rate, Korea’s regulatory framework remains comparatively rudimentary relative to Europe’s tightening approach. A global comparative study evaluating 178 countries across 11 AI governance criteria ranked South Korea below countries operating under the EU AI Act. While Seoul’s 2024 “Act on the Development of AI and Establishment of Trust” established regulatory structures, adopted a risk-based framework and introduced deepfake labeling requirements, analysts said the law remains considerably more industry-friendly than Europe’s stricter regime. Fines remain relatively modest, transparency requirements around copyrighted training data are limited, and environmental impacts tied to large-scale AI infrastructure are largely absent from the legislation. The result, experts say, is a widening gap between AI deployment speed and accountability architecture. Langlois argued governments and corporations globally have spent years drafting ethical principles without building systems capable of real enforcement. “Ethics is not a checklist,” she said. “It is governance architecture.” At the seminar, she proposed a four-pillar framework for institutionalizing AI ethics: establishing enforceable standards, building organizational competency, implementing audit and monitoring systems, and ensuring continuous adaptation as AI systems evolve. Her broader point was that trust in AI cannot depend on voluntary declarations alone. That argument increasingly resonates in Korea because the country’s AI adoption profile is unusually concentrated in industries where data sensitivity and intellectual property risks are highest. Software engineers using AI for debugging and optimization interact directly with proprietary codebases and internal systems. Media professionals increasingly rely on AI-generated or AI-assisted content. Educators handle large amounts of student and institutional data. As AI becomes embedded deeper into those sectors, governance failures could propagate much faster across the economy. For now, much of the responsibility rests with private companies, while regulatory role is confined to post-crisis damage control. Naver AI Safety Center leader Won Seong-jae said the company is rebuilding its internal AI risk evaluation systems around practical service-level risks involving privacy, misinformation and legally sensitive content categories. He described the company’s objective as “unnoticeable safety” — systems robust enough that users can rely on AI-powered services without constantly questioning whether safeguards exist. The challenge facing South Korea is that the country may already be approaching the frontier where AI adoption itself begins exposing the limits of existing institutions. 2026-05-03 10:48:00

LG Electronics Wins 27 Red Dot Design Awards, Including Top Prize for OLED evo W6 LG Electronics said Saturday it won 27 prizes at the Red Dot Design Award 2026, including a top honor. The Red Dot Design Award is considered one of the world’s three major design prizes, along with the iF Design Award and IDEA. LG Electronics also won 26 prizes at the iF Design Award 2026 in February. The company said products recognized then included the LG CLOiD home robot, designed to fit into home environments and interact by responding to facial expressions, voice and gestures, and the LG OLED evo W6 wireless wallpaper TV, about 9 millimeters thick. At this year’s Red Dot awards, the LG OLED evo W6 won the Best of the Best honor. LG Electronics said the TV is about 9 mm thick—about the width of a pencil—and integrates the screen, power unit and speakers to sit flush against a wall in a wallpaper-style design. In home appliances and IT, LG Electronics said judges also praised designs that considered everyday convenience. The recognized products included: △the LG French-door refrigerator, which uses a zero-clearance hinge to minimize the gap between the refrigerator and the wall; △the LG Whisen Objet Collection Cool home air conditioner with a minimalist design; and △the LG Sound Suite home audio system designed to deliver optimized immersive sound. Jeong Uk-jun, head of LG Electronics’ Design Management Center and an executive vice president, said the company will continue developing customer-focused designs that blend naturally into living spaces while improving ease of use.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-03 10:48:00

Samsung Electronics union sees surge in resignations amid dispute over bonus demands Resignations from a Samsung Electronics labor union are rising, led by members outside the company’s semiconductor division, as complaints grow that the union’s performance-bonus demands favor chip workers. The union has warned of an 18-day general strike starting on the 21st, and a decision to keep dues automatically deducted during the dispute has brought long-simmering grievances into the open. Industry officials said that posts seeking to withdraw from the Samsung Electronics branch of the cross-company union have surged on the union website’s message board. Daily withdrawal requests that had typically stayed below 100 climbed past 500 on April 28 and exceeded 1,000 on April 29, according to the officials. The trend has spread through internal company boards and workplace online communities, where members have posted proof of withdrawal. Departing members said the union has prioritized the interests of workers in the Device Solutions (DS) division, which runs Samsung’s semiconductor business, while ignoring demands from other divisions. About 80% of the union’s members are DS employees, and DS members are also leading the planned strike, the officials said. Ahead of the walkout, the union has demanded that only the DS division receive performance bonuses equal to 15% of operating profit with no cap. It has not presented any conditions for the Device eXperience (DX) division, which has weaker results, the officials said. DX, which handles finished products, saw first-quarter operating profit fall 36% from a year earlier, affected by higher semiconductor prices from DS, the officials said. In that context, critics said the union’s proposal would leave DS employees receiving performance bonuses close to 600 million won per person this year, while DX employees would face the prospect of high-intensity business restructuring without any bonus. Tensions have also risen after the union began recruiting staff for the strike, offering 3 million won in allowances to those who participate for at least 15 days. The union also decided to raise dues for May to 50,000 won from 10,000 won. In addition, the union announced late last month it would shift dues collection to a checkoff system, under which the company deducts dues from monthly pay and transfers them to the union, potentially exposing whether an employee is a member. After those moves became known, posts flooded internal online boards criticizing the dues increase. “It’s hard to accept raising dues when pay will also fall during a strike,” one post said. Another wrote, “DX isn’t even being looked after — why should we raise dues beyond covering leadership legal costs and even pay favors to strike staff?” Still, with DX members making up about 20% of the union, observers said the union is still likely to press ahead with the strike. A Samsung Electronics employee said, “We’re in the same union, but the atmosphere is becoming more divided depending on which division you belong to,” adding, “It’s painful to see the camaraderie and workplace culture built up over years breaking down as conflict within the union deepens.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-03 10:36:19

Why AKMU’s ‘Paradise of Rumors’ Is Striking a Nerve in an Exhausted Korea “Weary and sick traveler, lonely traveler, your incurable illness cannot exist there.” (omitted) “Walk slowly, for a long time, to Paradise of Rumors.” (lyrics excerpt from ‘Paradise of Rumors’) One of the quietest songs to move people lately is, unusually, very slow. There are few trendy electronic sounds and no punchy hook. Instead, there is an old guitar tone and a voice that feels like wind. It settles on the listener, very gradually, like late-afternoon light slipping through a window. That is the story of ‘Bloom,’ an album by sibling duo AKMU. It has 2.5 billion cumulative streams on Melon, and a single track has appeared on the daily chart for 1,046 consecutive days. Those striking numbers point, with unusual precision, to what people in South Korea are worn down by. “After joy comes sadness — it’s a beautiful heart. Don’t be afraid; sit and face it. It becomes a brilliant painting. Your laughter, and your tears in harmony.” (lyrics excerpt from ‘Joy, Sadness, a Beautiful Heart’) Listeners say the song makes them choke up. Some write that it comforted them during chemotherapy; others say thoughts of wanting to die have eased, even a little. In an era defined by artificial intelligence, an intensely analog song is being embraced. People now live in a time of abundance and convenience. With a swipe, they can watch almost anything. AI can draw, make music and even write. Algorithms analyze tastes and show what users are likely to want. Life keeps getting faster and easier. Yet faces look more tired. On the subway, people stare at screens. In cafes, at crosswalks and in bed just before sleep, they keep watching something. Bodies stop, but minds do not. Information overflows, while emotions feel increasingly dry. Somewhere along the way, people lost the ability to simply be still. Even rest is expected to be productive. Exercise must be logged, travel must become photos, reading must be posted as proof. Doing nothing is treated like laziness. Even a moment without activity can feel unsettling. That may be why Seoul has seen a curious new scene. Not long ago, Gwanghwamun Square hosted a “spacing-out contest.” Participants had to sit still for 90 minutes without looking at their phones. On weekends, the Han River has hosted a “sleeping contest,” judging who can fall into the deepest, calmest sleep. Staring into space and sleeping — once among the most natural human acts — have become competitions. People submit applications and beat out others just to earn the right to do nothing. It is funny, and also sad. Why would people choose to sit blankly in the middle of a city, or lie down by the Han River to sleep in front of strangers? Perhaps because they have gone too long without real rest. National statistics show South Koreans’ average sleep time continues to fall, while the number of people who cannot sleep is rising. Students cut sleep between cram schools and entrance exams. Office workers stay up late amid endless tasks and anxiety. Self-employed people cannot relax even after closing their shops. Parents find time for themselves only after putting children to bed. Everyone is tired, but few can rest at ease. Lee Chan-hyuk’s lyrics do not offer loud, easy hope. They acknowledge sadness. “After joy comes sadness — it’s a beautiful heart.” At first, the line can sound strange, because many people learned to treat sadness as failure. Depression is something to hide, anxiety something not to reveal, and being shaken something that means falling behind. But the song argues that sadness is proof the heart is still alive — and that joy and sadness were never truly separate. Memories that last are rarely made of joy alone. Love includes pain. Youth can be radiant and anxious at once. A parent’s back can feel steady yet lonely. Summer vacation in childhood can be happy, but the evening it ends is often sad. Life holds joy and sorrow together, yet people may have been pushed for too long to show only happiness. That is why listeners break down in front of the song: they do not have to pretend they are fine. What deepens the impact is that the music was made by passing through real wounds. Lee Su-hyun spent a period largely cut off from the world amid a long slump, depression, insomnia and panic. There were times when her weight rose sharply and she could not leave her room. Her brother, Lee Chan-hyuk, tried to bring her back to life by walking with her, traveling and getting her into sunlight. They walked the Camino de Santiago and also went to Uganda for volunteer work. ‘Bloom’ is not just an album; it reads like a record made to help someone live again. That may be why the music carries a sincerity that feels rare today. This is an age that tries to make everything efficient: fast answers, fast delivery, fast relationships, fast consumption. AI keeps reducing the time needed for tasks, yet people feel busier. In technologies built to save time, many end up losing themselves. What people need may not be more speed. It may be a brief, forced logoff: putting down the phone and watching the Han River breeze for a long time; eating dinner slowly with someone; listening to one song all the way through at night. Turning pages until drowsiness arrives. Walking for no reason and catching the smell of dusk. That kind of old-fashioned humanity. As the AI era advances, those moments may become even more valuable. The ability to rest well, to be quietly alone, and to look inward may become a distinctly human strength. That may be why people are looking for ‘Paradise of Rumors.’ “Walk slowly, for a long time, to Paradise of Rumors.” Perhaps people are not only listening to the song — they are briefly imagining the road that leads there. 2026-05-03 10:29:21

Hyundai Motor Group wins 7 US News awards for 2026 hybrids and EVs Hyundai Motor Group said it captured more than one-third of the awards in a major U.S. media outlet’s hybrid and electric vehicle rankings, underscoring its competitiveness in North America’s electrified-vehicle market. The group said it aims to build on that quality reputation as it posts record sales in the region. The automaker said Saturday that it won seven of 19 categories in U.S. News & World Report’s “2026 Best Hybrid and Electric Cars Awards.” U.S. News evaluated 138 vehicles across 19 categories, judging overall quality, fuel economy and driving range based on EPA figures, safety and reliability, the company said. Hyundai and Kia each won three categories, the most among global auto brands, the group said. Genesis won one category. Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 was named best compact electric SUV, and the Tucson Hybrid was named best compact hybrid SUV. Both models won for a third straight year in their categories, the company said. The Ioniq 9 was selected as best midsize electric SUV. Kia’s Niro was named best subcompact hybrid SUV, and the Sportage plug-in hybrid was selected as best compact plug-in hybrid SUV. The Telluride Hybrid won best midsize hybrid SUV, the group said. Genesis’ GV60 was named best compact luxury electric SUV, making the list for the first time, it said. A Hyundai-Kia official said the results show “clear evidence” that models based on the E-GMP dedicated EV platform and the group’s hybrid lineup are being recognized for top-tier value in North America. The official said the companies will continue introducing vehicles aimed at meeting a range of customer lifestyles and leading the global electrification market. Hyundai Motor Group said it is seeking to strengthen its lead in North America’s electrified market as U.S. sales of Hyundai and Kia hybrids and EVs continue to rise. Hyundai Motor America said Hyundai’s April hybrid sales rose 52% from a year earlier, the best monthly result on record. Kia said its April hybrid sales jumped 97%, while total sales of its EV models rose 71%, both the best April results on record. For Hyundai, April sales of the Sonata Hybrid surged 171%, and the Elantra Hybrid rose 55%, it said. The Santa Fe Hybrid also set a new April retail sales record, pointing to growing SUV-focused hybrid demand. Kia said April sales of the Sportage Hybrid and Sorento Hybrid increased 112% and 34%, respectively. Over the same period, sales of the large electric SUV EV9 jumped 481%, it said.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-03 10:28:07

Woori Bank Arranges $825 Million Refinancing for Ohio Gas Power Plant Woori Bank said it has completed a refinancing arrangement worth $825 million (about 1.1 trillion won) for a 950-megawatt gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Trumbull County, Ohio, expanding its footprint in North American infrastructure finance. The bank said Sunday the refinancing was timed to the start of commercial operations at the plant. The project is jointly funded by Korea Southern Power Co., the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corp. (KIND) and Siemens Energy. After the plant began full operations on April 15, Woori led the conversion of construction-stage loans into long-term facilities financing suited to the operating phase. Woori said it first provided financial support for the project in 2022, when it secured a lead role by raising $150 million from South Korean financial institutions. In the latest refinancing, it said it and KB Kookmin Bank jointly underwrote a total of $230 million in long-term facilities loans and a revolving credit line to be used for working capital. Lee Hae-yeon, deputy head of Woori Bank’s infrastructure finance department, said the deal supplied funding on schedule with the start of commercial operations and strengthened the bank’s position in the North American energy market. Lee said Woori will continue to seek high-quality global assets and support South Korean companies expanding overseas as a financial partner. 2026-05-03 10:09:15

Trump Says U.S. Could Resume Strikes on Iran if It Acts 'Rudely' President Donald Trump said the United States could resume military action against Iran if it behaves “rudely.” According to Axios and other foreign media, Trump made the remarks May 2 (local time) at Palm Beach airport in Florida before boarding his plane. Asked by reporters whether he could restart attacks on Iran, Trump said, “If they (Iran) act rudely or do something bad,” it could happen. “For now, we’ll watch,” he added, saying the possibility “certainly” exists. Trump was also reported to have received a briefing on April 30 from U.S. Central Command on a new military plan involving Iran. At the same time, with reports that Iran has proposed a new ceasefire plan to the United States, Trump appeared to be weighing both negotiations and military action. Earlier May 2, he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that he would “soon” review “the proposal Iran just sent us.” He added that it was “hard to imagine” the plan would be accepted, saying Iran has not yet “paid enough” for what it has done “to humanity and the world” over the past 47 years. NPR and other outlets, citing Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency and Iranian state television, reported that Iran delivered a 14-point ceasefire proposal to the U.S. side through Pakistan, a mediator. The report said the proposal was a response to a nine-point U.S. ceasefire plan. It calls for ending the war within 30 days, instead of a two-month ceasefire proposed by the United States. The reported terms also include guarantees related to U.S. hostile actions, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from areas around Iran, an end to a U.S. maritime blockade of Iran, the unfreezing of Iranian accounts and lifting of sanctions, an end to the conflict in Lebanon, and the creation of a new mechanism for managing the Strait of Hormuz. 2026-05-03 10:00:15

Labor Strains at Samsung Electronics, Samsung Biologics Raise Questions About Internal Cohesion Labor disputes erupting at Samsung Electronics, the world’s fourth-largest information technology company, and Samsung Biologics, the world’s largest contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for biopharmaceuticals, are more than routine wage talks. They underscore structural tensions inside the Samsung group as it enters the early stage of the artificial intelligence era. While Samsung is viewed externally as a top-tier global company, internal interests and workplace order are increasingly diverging across divisions. Samsung Electronics posted a record first-quarter revenue of more than 57 trillion won, but profits are effectively concentrated in semiconductors. The Device Solutions (DS) division has led companywide results on the back of a boom in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI data centers. By contrast, the Device eXperience (DX) division, which covers smartphones, TVs and home appliances, faces growing concerns about weakening profitability. The result is an uneven structure in which one side is booming while another is described as being at risk. That gap is spilling into internal labor tensions. A semiconductor-focused union has warned of a general strike, demanding the removal of caps on performance bonuses and compensation tied to operating profit. Employees in non-semiconductor units have also voiced rising frustration over perceived disparities, a sign that a shared sense of belonging is being tested by widening differences in how performance is rewarded. At Samsung Biologics, the situation is also serious. The company, which has the world’s largest production capacity, has entered its first strike since its founding. Because biopharmaceutical manufacturing is a continuous process involving living cells, any disruption can quickly translate into major losses. Global drugmakers place high value on stable supply, making internal conflict a direct risk to competitiveness in the sector. The article notes that demands for fair compensation are not, in themselves, the issue. The AI semiconductor boom would not be possible without engineers and production workers, and skilled labor on biomanufacturing lines is also a core competitive asset. Rewarding performance is a basic principle of a market economy. The deeper question, however, is less about “how much more” and more about “how to sustain Samsung as a single organization.” Samsung Electronics grew on an integrated model linking semiconductors, smartphones, appliances and components. During memory downturns, device businesses served as a buffer; now semiconductors are supporting the broader company. It was a structure built on enduring each other’s cycles. Now, as division-level interests become more fragmented, a “what we earn is ours” mindset is spreading. The article argues this is not unique to Samsung but a broader challenge for manufacturers in the AI era. Maintaining a wide lead cannot be achieved by one division alone; semiconductors and data, platforms and finished products, and biomanufacturing and supply chains must move together. Integrating an organization can be harder than advancing technology. The article points to global IT companies reshaping organizations during AI transitions, saying Microsoft has tightened links between its cloud and AI teams, and Nvidia has moved beyond being only a chipmaker toward becoming an AI ecosystem company. What is needed, it says, is not only bigger investment or slogans about technological dominance, but a management structure and organizational philosophy suited to the AI era. Strong semiconductor earnings do not mean Samsung can become a semiconductor-only company, and having the world’s largest bioproduction capacity does not automatically secure internal trust. Samsung, the article concludes, is at a crossroads. If it cannot integrate internal fractures despite having world-class manufacturing capabilities, today’s boom could plant the seeds of a future crisis. It calls for more precise profit-sharing, clearer solidarity across divisions, and labor-management relations that shift from confrontation to jointly designing long-term competitiveness. The real test, it argues, is beginning inside the company. 2026-05-03 09:54:20

Samsung's AI chip bonanza fuels bitter divide inside Korea's biggest company SEOUL, May 03 (AJP)-Inside Samsung Electronics, the celebration over record-breaking first-quarter earnings is rapidly turning into a battle over who deserves the spoils of the AI boom. The South Korean tech giant, now ranked among the world’s largest technology companies alongside Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia by market value and profit scale, posted an all-time quarterly operating profit of 57.2 trillion won ($41 billion) for the January-March period. But the numbers exposed an increasingly fractured company: the semiconductor division generated nearly all of the earnings windfall, while workers in smartphones, TVs and appliances braced for restructuring and possible layoffs. The widening imbalance has now spilled into open labor conflict. Samsung’s majority union, dominated by semiconductor workers in the Device Solutions (DS) division, is threatening a general strike while demanding uncapped bonuses equivalent to 15 percent of divisional operating profit. The union argues that engineers and production staff behind the company’s AI memory boom deserve unprecedented compensation after helping Samsung capitalize on soaring demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI data centers. Yet the aggressive push has triggered backlash from employees outside the semiconductor business, particularly in the Device eXperience (DX) division that oversees smartphones, TVs and home appliances. According to industry officials Sunday, requests to withdraw from the union have surged in recent days, with internal bulletin boards flooded with resignation posts and criticism that the labor group has effectively become a “chip workers’ union” rather than a companywide representative body. Daily withdrawal requests reportedly jumped from fewer than 100 to more than 1,000 at one point last week. The anger intensified after the union announced it would provide up to 3 million won in strike activity payments for staff participating more than 15 days in labor action, following an earlier decision to raise monthly union fees fivefold during collective bargaining. Non-chip employees accuse union leadership of using broader membership dues to finance a strike agenda centered almost entirely on semiconductor workers. “They only talk about DS bonuses while DX employees are worried about survival,” one employee wrote on an internal forum. The contrast between Samsung’s two core businesses has become increasingly stark under the AI-driven semiconductor supercycle. The DS division posted 53.7 trillion won in operating profit in the first quarter alone, nearly 50 times higher than a year earlier, driven by explosive demand for AI memory chips and continued price increases across the memory market. Industry estimates suggest DS operating margins reached roughly 66 percent, with memory profitability approaching 75 percent. Under the union’s proposal, some semiconductor employees could theoretically receive bonuses approaching 600 million won per person this year if Samsung’s annual earnings continue at the current pace. Meanwhile, the DX division generated only 3 trillion won in quarterly operating profit, down 36 percent from a year earlier despite the launch boost from the Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup. Profit margins in the consumer electronics business have collapsed to around 6 percent as rising semiconductor costs, weaker global demand and U.S. tariff pressures squeeze earnings. Some analysts are even warning that Samsung’s consumer electronics operation could slip into annual losses for the first time. The company has already begun shutting low-profit appliance production lines, outsourcing parts of manufacturing and conducting management reviews across domestic sales operations. Persistent speculation about partial withdrawals from China’s TV and appliance market has further fueled anxiety among DX employees. The labor dispute is now exposing a deeper structural issue inside Samsung: the company increasingly resembles two vastly different businesses operating under one corporate roof. One side is riding the global AI infrastructure boom and generating historic profits. The other is struggling with slowing demand, margin compression and fears of restructuring. Industry observers say the internal division carries broader implications for Samsung’s long-term cohesion. “For years, profits from smartphones and appliances helped sustain semiconductor investment during downturns,” an employee said, requesting anonymity. “Now the roles have reversed, but employees are questioning whether the rewards and burdens are being shared fairly.” Samsung management has so far resisted the union’s demand to remove bonus caps, partly out of concern that extreme compensation gaps could deepen resentment across divisions. But the conflict is becoming harder to contain as the semiconductor boom reshapes internal power dynamics inside South Korea’s most important company. Even within the chip division itself, tensions are reportedly intensifying between union members and non-members as the prospect of a walkout approaches. “People barely talk to each other anymore depending on whether they support the union,” another Samsung employee said. “Everyone says we are one company, but right now it doesn’t feel that way.” 2026-05-03 09:02:34

Lee Si-jong: Local election candidates should win on results, not vote-seeking “With the June 3 local elections about a month away, candidates should guard against excessive ambition and talk about their region’s future,” Lee Si-jong said. Voters will choose provincial governors, mayors and county chiefs, local council members and superintendents of education. The vote will shape local administrative priorities, budgets, industrial strategy, welfare and education for the next four years, he said. Lee, described in the interview as a former North Chungcheong Province governor, has served as an administrative official after passing the state civil service exam, as an appointed county chief and mayor of Chungju, as a three-term elected mayor of Chungju, as a two-term lawmaker and as a three-term governor. The article says he is 8-0 in elections. In the interview, Lee offered three points of advice to candidates. First: “Compete through work.” He said candidates should not “beg for votes” by constantly showing up in front of people, but instead work so that support “comes on its own.” Second: “Truth is the greatest weapon.” Third: “Beware excessive greed,” saying too much ambition can cloud judgment in administration and politics. As national politics increasingly spills into local races, Lee said candidates should answer practical questions: How will they create jobs? How will they keep young people from leaving? How will they fill gaps in medical care, education and transportation in rural areas and smaller cities? And what authority and financial resources should local governments have as the capital region grows and other areas face decline? Lee said local elections are not subcontracted contests for national politics, but a test of whether regions can design their own future. For local autonomy to work, he said, electing leaders is not enough; local governments need authority and funding, and regional voices must be reflected in national decision-making. He said he continues to advocate constitutional revision to create a bicameral legislature, including a regional-representative upper chamber. The following is a Q&A with Lee. “Local elections are not subcontracted contests for national politics” - The June 3 local elections are approaching. From your perspective, what do they mean? “Local elections are when residents choose the people who will work for their community. But in reality, local elections keep getting pulled by national politics. National partisan conflict comes down to the regions, and local candidates often lean on national slogans rather than local issues. I don’t think that fits the original meaning of local autonomy. Even after running many campaigns, what residents remember for a long time is not words but work. Whether I was mayor, a lawmaker or governor, my motto was always ‘compete through work.’ I thought that if you show up too often and look like you’re begging for votes, votes won’t come. Rather than begging, you should work hard so votes come on their own.” Lee said elections are less about a competition in publicity than about building trust. He said voters may notice a candidate’s national political stance, but more closely judge whether the candidate can change daily life — a road, a hospital, a school or an industrial complex can matter more than big rhetoric. He said “truth is the greatest weapon,” arguing that truth may be recognized late in politics but lasts. He said candidates who offer applause-friendly pledges without explaining funding and authority will be found out over time, while those who steadily explain feasible policies gain trust. “The reason for 8 wins in 8 elections was not begging for votes” - You won all eight elections you ran in. What is the key? “I wouldn’t call it a secret. Basically, I was able to go 8-0 because I received a lot of help from North Chungcheong residents, and I want to thank them. If I had to say, first was ‘compete through work.’ I always kept that motto as mayor, lawmaker and governor. I believed that if you appear often just to beg for votes, votes won’t come. It’s important to work so votes come on their own. Second is the belief that truth is the greatest weapon. It’s slow, but it lasts and can endure. Third is that excessive greed clouds judgment. Whether in administration or politics, if you want too much, your judgment can easily blur. I hope people avoid excessive greed.” Lee said that as election day nears, candidates tend to move more, speak louder and offer more promises, but he urged restraint. He said a responsible candidate can say what is possible and what is difficult right now. “In a crisis, a local leader must not avoid decisions” - As mayor of Chungju, you issued an evacuation order during a major flood and prevented large casualties. What standard should a local leader use? “That was the 1990 flood. Upstream of Chungju was Chungju Dam, and downstream was the regulating dam. The city was in between. It rained so much in Gangwon Province that water poured down. We didn’t know when the levee in the city might break. I asked the province, the central government and the Blue House, but no one could say when the levee would break or how many casualties there would be. After thinking alone, around 8 p.m. I judged that ‘if this goes wrong, there could be hundreds of casualties,’ so I issued an evacuation order. That was not common in administration at the time. We forcibly evacuated residents in five neighborhoods near the river. People protested and there was an uproar. But a couple of hours after the evacuation, the levee broke in several places. I think that if I hadn’t evacuated, the 피해 could have been more than 1,000, and there could have been hundreds of deaths. I still remember it vividly.” Lee said choosing a local leader means entrusting that person with decisions in emergencies, when lives and safety are at stake and waiting for instructions can be too slow. “Local autonomy holds elections locally, but the center holds the power and money” - You have served as both a lawmaker and a local government head. What is the biggest difference between national politics and local administration? “In a word, there is a top-down relationship, because the central government holds all authority and financial resources. Article 117 of the Constitution says local governments can enact self-governing regulations only within the scope of laws and regulations. Those include not only laws passed by the National Assembly but also presidential decrees, ministerial decrees, guidelines, rules and notices. So in practice, there isn’t much local governments can do on their own. Today’s local autonomy is that residents elect local government heads, but authority and funding are all in the center. The central government says it devolves authority, but it also often creates new laws that burden local governments. For example, when it enacted a law to foster regional universities, it put an obligation on local governments to support budgets for those universities. But local governments have almost no authority over them. It’s a structure where there is no authority but there is financial burden. The same happened when firefighters were converted into national civil servants. If they are national civil servants, it’s natural for the state to pay personnel costs, but the structure became one where local governments bear the costs. That makes local administration very difficult.” “My goal was to raise North Chungcheong from a perennial 2% to the 4% range” - During your 12 years as governor, you had major results in investment attraction and industrial development. What was your strategy? “I served as governor for 12 years starting in 2010, leading the province with the catchphrase ‘North Chungcheong, land of life and sun.’ Until 2009, North Chungcheong was a ‘perennial 2%,’ weak in many aspects such as the economy and population compared with the national total. So I set a goal of raising it from the 2% range to the 4% range. Over 12 years, we fostered bio, cosmetics, solar energy and semiconductors. As a result, over 12 years GRDP increased 70% compared with 2009, exports increased 300%, and investment attraction exceeded 100 trillion won. The province’s share of the national economy rose from 2.99% in 2009 to 3.7% in 2021. I see that as significant growth.” Lee also described the process of attracting Hanwha Q CELLS. He said the company demanded a written pledge that the governor would pay a 100 billion won penalty if permits and construction were not completed by the deadline. Lee said he signed and the plant was completed on time. “The Gangho axis is a national balanced-development strategy to stop regional decline” - One major policy during your tenure was the Gangho axis development strategy. Does it still matter? “It matters a lot. Korea has been developed around the Gyeongbu axis. The Gangho axis, linking Gangwon through Chungcheong to Honam, was largely undeveloped and lacked national projects, so it was left out. Expressways, high-speed rail and airports were concentrated on the Gyeongbu axis, but the Gangho axis lacked connections. It was too imbalanced. If the Gyeongbu axis accounts for about 80% in industry and the economy, the Gangho axis is about 20%. So I argued for Gangho axis development. We connected railways and expressways and, together with eight provinces and metropolitan cities, reflected it in the 4th National Balanced Development Plan. But for success, a special Gangho axis law is needed. It’s regrettable that it was not legislated when I stepped down.” “Give North Chungcheong a sea — logic is everything in persuading the central government” - Local development requires persuading the central government. What was hardest? “Persuading the central government is very difficult. The most important thing is to build a strong logic. For example, as governor I argued for building a marine science museum in Cheongju. People said, ‘What marine, in a province with no sea?’ I said, ‘Give North Chungcheong a sea. The province has the right to have a sea, and the state has the duty to give it a sea.’ My logic was that to develop maritime awareness, inland residents need maritime education even more than coastal residents. That’s how we attracted a 100 billion won marine science museum. The same with the Jungbu Inland Railway. I proposed a rail line from Seoul to Chungju, Mungyeong and Gimcheon. At first there was a lot of opposition — why build a railway when there aren’t big factories? But I presented logic such as restoring historic routes, and the railway eventually opened.” “One root cause of capital-region concentration is a population-based unicameral National Assembly” - Capital-region concentration and regional decline are key issues. Where do you see the root cause? “I see it as a vicious cycle: as population concentrates in the capital region, resources concentrate there, and as resources concentrate, population concentrates even more. There are many reasons, but I also see the population-based unicameral National Assembly as a big problem. In the first National Assembly, the capital region had 19.5% of lawmakers and non-capital regions had 80.5%. But as concentration continued, by the 22nd National Assembly the capital region increased greatly. Including proportional representation, you could say the number of capital-region lawmakers became larger than non-capital regions. Then it becomes very difficult for non-capital voices to be reflected in national affairs. For example, Seoul’s Gangnam District has three lawmakers, while North Chungcheong’s Goesan County could be seen as having about one-quarter of a lawmaker. Gangnam may have more people, but Goesan is much larger in area and has many administrative demands — floods, wildfires, wild boar control and crops. But if seats are set only by population, concentration worsens. That’s why the argument for a bicameral legislature centered on regions — an upper chamber — emerges.” “A regional-representative upper chamber is needed for local voices to reach the state” - You have recently emphasized restructuring the power system and creating a bicameral legislature with a regional-representative upper chamber. Why? “After stepping down as governor and working with the Constitutional Association, and having long experience as a provincial governor, I came to think that for the country — especially to prevent regional decline — a regional-representative upper chamber is absolutely necessary. It’s the concept of dispersing power. Today’s political conflict is almost at the level of war. The other side is seen as a complete enemy. No matter how much they fight, lawmakers’ terms are guaranteed. Impeachment of the president can be initiated in the National Assembly. Since the government was established in 1948, 10 of 13 presidents could be considered ‘unable to complete normally.’ Something is seriously wrong. Our Constitution has no means to moderate extreme conflict. There is no vote of no confidence and no dissolution of parliament. There is no structure like the United States, where the Senate coordinates between the president and the House. If impeachment is initiated, it goes to the Constitutional Court. In this structure, unless the power system is quickly reformed, there is no way to stop political conflict.” Lee said the core of reform is dispersing presidential power, dispersing National Assembly power and decentralizing central government power to local governments, with a regional-representative upper chamber as a common tool. “This is not about increasing lawmakers — it can be done with a fixed total” - People worry a bicameral system would mean more lawmakers. “I know that sentiment. That’s why I argue for keeping the total fixed. There are 300 lawmakers now, and you can divide those 300 into an upper and lower chamber. Or you can keep the total budget currently used for 300 lawmakers and divide it to include the upper chamber. If either the total number or the total budget is kept unchanged, I think there would be less resistance. People think Korea has many lawmakers, but per capita it’s not that many. Some say a small country doesn’t need a bicameral system, but Korea is not small by population and is a large economy. I don’t think that argument is right. If the ninth constitutional revision emphasized direct presidential elections, I hope the 10th revision will emphasize a bicameral National Assembly. I think it would be hopeful for the country’s future.” The article said Lee rejected suggestions that he was positioning himself to run for an upper-chamber seat, saying “not at all.” It said he explained he had spent about 51 years in public service — 23 years as an appointed official and 27 to 28 years as an elected official — and was advocating constitutional reform as a way to repay the country. “Politics is recognizing the reality of more and less, not right and wrong” - How do you define politics? “I don’t think politics is judging right and wrong. That’s a judge’s job. Politics is recognizing the reality of more and less. Compromise is fundamental. For example, I think it’s wrong for a winner with 60% to exercise 100% of power. A 60% winner should recognize some share for the 40% who lost — that is real democracy and compromise. Conversely, the 40% should first accept the result. If they don’t and keep raising issues, political chaos is inevitable. Even power obtained legally must recognize the 40% who lost. The spirit of compromise — mutually recognizing the reality of more and less — is what is most needed.” The article said Lee cited his experience at Cheongnamdae, where he brought together displays on past presidents and leaders of the provisional government, saying “painful history must also be recorded as history.” “A country with sound fundamentals, a strong foundation, and investment in the future” - What direction should South Korea take? “What I want to recommend to our people and politicians is to build a country with sound fundamentals. Fundamentals could be national identity, or order and a sense of community. We need a country with sound fundamentals. Second is a country with a strong foundation. In education, scholarship, science, industry and culture, things last when the foundation is strong. Third is a country that invests in the future. I hope it becomes a country that invests with a view to 10 years and 100 years ahead, not just the immediate moment. I hope politicians work so we become a country with sound fundamentals, a strong foundation and investment in the future.” In closing, the article said Lee’s advice to candidates can be summed up in three lines: “Compete through work,” “Truth is the greatest weapon,” and “Beware excessive greed.” It said voters should judge who understands local realities, can persuade the central government with clear logic, can make responsible decisions in disasters, and can govern for the whole community. The article described Lee as an administrator who has worked across central and local government and in both legislative and executive roles. It said that during his 12 years as governor he promoted the slogan “North Chungcheong, land of life and sun,” fostered bio, cosmetics, solar energy and semiconductor industries, and focused on investment attraction and economic growth. After leaving office, it said, he has advocated restructuring the power system — especially a regional-representative upper chamber and a bicameral National Assembly — to address regional decline and capital-region concentration. 2026-05-03 08:36:17