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  Samsung Live: Samsung Union halts historic strike after eleventh-hour wage deal SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics' largest labor union on Wednesday night suspended its planned full-scale strike, narrowly averting a historic walkout just an hour before it was scheduled to begin. The dramatic breakthrough came after management and union leadership reached a tentative agreement on the 2026 wage negotiations. "The general strike scheduled from May 21 to June 7 will be suspended until further notice," the union’s joint strike committ May 20, 2026
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  Korea, India discuss expanding arms cooperation in first defense talks in 7 years SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back discussed ways to expand defense and defense industry cooperation with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in Seoul on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said. During the meeting at the ministry’s headquarters in Seoul, the two ministers agreed to further broaden cooperation in defense and arms industry fields, building on the “joint strategic vision” adopted at last month’s summit between the lea May 20, 2026
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  S. Korea pushes nuclear submarine plan, but fuel supply remains key hurdle SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - South Korea’s long-running ambition to deploy nuclear-powered submarines has gained fresh momentum as Seoul and Washington move to implement security agreements reached at their latest summit, though securing nuclear fuel remains the project’s biggest obstacle. The challenge facing the program is no longer simply whether South Korea can build or acquire nuclear-powered submarines, but how it would fuel them. According to data submitted by the Min May 20, 2026
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  CJ Group seeks police probe over leak of female employees' personal data SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - CJ Group filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency over the leak of personal information belonging to about 330 female employees via a Telegram channel, in the latest in a string of data security breaches rattling corporate Korea. The disclosed material the group revealed on Wednesday included mobile phone numbers, internal extensions, job titles and profile photographs, all of which matched current and former staff records, the company said. May 20, 2026
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  Samsung Live: Labor minister steps onto the mound to save talks and stop strike SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) -With a nationwide strike at Samsung Electronics just hours away, South Korean Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon on Wednesday personally stepped into wage negotiations after government-mediated arbitration collapsed, underscoring mounting fears in Seoul that a prolonged walkout could destabilize the semiconductor industry at the center of the global AI boom. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Kim would directly oversee renewed talks between Samsung managemen May 20, 2026
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  Homeplus stores fade as Korea's offline retail hunts for a lifeline SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - Finding a grocery item for an impromptu home dinner has become something of a luxury, said Michelle, an expatriate homemaker in her 40s living in Seorae Village, a quiet enclave in southern Seoul that is home to much of Korea’s French community due to its proximity to the country’s only French international school. Apart from a handful of convenience stores, butcher shops and fruit vendors, the neighborhood’s only meaningful grocery option is May 20, 2026
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  Kakao union wins strike mandate as Korean tech labor unrest spreads SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - Unionized workers at Kakao and four of its affiliates voted overwhelmingly in favor of industrial action, clearing the way for what would be the first joint strike in the South Korean tech giant's history and adding to a swelling wave of labor unrest sweeping the country's chip and platform industries. The Kakao branch of the Koren Federation of Chemical and Textile, and Food Workers Unions announced Wednesday all five affiliates — Kakao, Kakao Pa May 20, 2026
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  Samsung Live: Seoul presses management and union not to give up on talks SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) -The South Korean government pressured the management and union of Samsung Electronics not to give up talks to avert a general strike starting Thursday that could rattle the core chip sector sustaining Asia’s fourth-largest economy and one of the world’s hottest stock markets against Gulf war shocks. The presidential office Wednesday expressed “deep regret” after three days of government-mediated wage talks collapsed in Sejong City, while May 20, 2026
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  Samsung Live: Union to launch 18-day strike as planned after marathon talks collapse SEJONG, May 20 (AJP) -Samsung Electronics faces an unprecedented 18-day strike from Thursday after the union walked out of government-mediated marathon talks over revisions to the employee reward system at the tech giant whose market valuation has swelled to nearly $1 trillion amid the AI boom. Management and the Korean tech giant’s largest union held three days of talks at a government complex in Sejong under the mediation of the National Labor Relations Commission May 20, 2026
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  Seoul, Washington to launch working group to advance nuclear submarine deal SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) - South Korea and the United States have agreed to launch a bilateral working group to implement security agreements reached at their summit last October, including Washington’s approval for Seoul to build nuclear-powered submarines. U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Allison Hooker is set to visit Seoul within weeks to lead an interagency delegation for the talks. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-jo May 20, 2026