Speaking before a post-mediation session at the National Labor Relations Commission in central Seoul, SELU Chairman Choi Seung-ho said the union stood by its demand to allocate 15 percent of Samsung Electronics’ operating profit to employee bonuses and abolish bonus caps through a formalized system.
“We continue to demand a 15 percent operating profit-based bonus system and the abolition of the ceiling,” Choi told reporters. “If the company has no position on institutionalizing this, we believe mediation will not be possible even today.”
Choi accused management of failing to honor previous promises to reserve earnings during profitable years and use them to cushion compensation during downturns.
“The company previously said it would accumulate profits during good years and use them to support workers during deficit periods, but it failed to keep that promise,” he said. “Simple written wording is no longer enough for us to trust. We are looking for a clearly institutionalized framework.”
At the same time, Choi signaled limited room for compromise, saying the union would consider its stance if the company presents a “forward-looking change.”
The union also reaffirmed that it would not discuss creating a company-wide shared bonus pool for non-semiconductor divisions during the current negotiations, despite rising internal tensions over widening compensation gaps between chip workers and employees in other business units.
Asked whether disagreements within the labor coalition over the issue had been resolved, Choi said the union could not reverse a position already jointly agreed upon by the three participating labor groups.
“We do not want to create controversy over insincere bargaining,” he said. “Our direction remains unchanged.”
He added that the union, now legally recognized as Samsung Electronics’ majority labor organization, plans to actively review the broader shared-fund issue next year.
The SELU, which has more than 40,000 members, has threatened an 18-day general strike beginning May 21 after wage negotiations broke down over bonuses tied to the AI-driven semiconductor supercycle.
The standoff comes as Samsung Electronics races to narrow the gap with rival SK hynix in high-bandwidth memory chips used in artificial intelligence servers, heightening concerns that any disruption at semiconductor fabrication lines could hit output at a sensitive moment for the global AI supply chain.
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