Jeon Younghyun and Noh Taemun of Samsung Urge to "Avoid Loss of Competitiveness Amid Challenging Business Environment" as Union Strike Looms

by Kim Jinyeong

Published 07 May.2026 14:14(KST)

Updated 07 May.2026 14:42(KST)

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Samsung Electronics executives have expressed their position ahead of a planned general strike in May. They voiced regret over the inability to narrow differences between labor and management in wage negotiations, while urging employees to act in a way that does not undermine the company’s future competitiveness.

According to industry sources on May 7, Younghyun Jeon, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics as well as head of the Device Solutions (DS) Division, and Taemoon Noh, President and CEO in charge of the Device eXperience (DX) Division, shared their stance on the ongoing wage negotiations with employees through an internal message board on the same day.

At the 57th Samsung Electronics Annual General Meeting held on the 18th at the Suwon Convention Center in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Younghyun Jeon, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics as well as head of the Device Solutions Division, is giving a greeting as the chairperson. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Vice Chairman Jeon and President Noh stated, “Since December last year, the company has been negotiating with the joint bargaining team of the labor unions for the 2026 wage agreement, considering our future competitiveness and business environment comprehensively to propose alternatives, and striving to broaden mutual understanding through dialogue with the union. However, we regret that we have not been able to reach a final agreement yet.”

The two executives added, “We will continue discussions with an open mind and work to find a direction that employees can agree with,” while also expressing their intention to prevent an extreme situation such as a strike.

They emphasized, “In this challenging global business environment, all members of management, including ourselves, will take responsibility to ensure that we do not lose our future competitiveness. We ask every employee to do their best in their respective roles so that our future competitiveness is not compromised.”

Noh Taemoon, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics, is delivering a greeting speech at the Samsung Electronics DX Division's "2026 Win-Win Cooperation Day" held on the 27th at the DoubleTree by Hilton Seoul Pangyo in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News

This message appears to reflect the executives’ direct intention to resolve the conflict as concerns mount ahead of the general strike announced by the Samsung Electronics union for May 21.

Previously, during intensive wage negotiations for 2026 that began on March 26, the management proposed special rewards that would exceed the upper limit of the Outperformance Incentive (OPI) if the DS Division achieved the top position in domestic sales and operating profit, among other incentives. However, the union insisted on a permanent abolition of the upper limit through a revision of the system, and the two sides failed to narrow the gap.

In response, management offered a new alternative: “For this wage negotiation, special rewards at a level comparable to competitors should be prioritized, and system improvements can be further discussed after hearing sufficient feedback from the union and employees.” However, the union again rejected this proposal, deepening the conflict.

An industry official commented, “It is hard to understand why the union halted negotiations by clinging to changes in the system, even though the company had effectively accepted most of the union’s demands by promising special rewards that go beyond the existing incentive ceiling. In the current fiercely competitive global semiconductor environment, such a hardline stance from the union could burden the company’s future competitiveness.”

Meanwhile, discord is also intensifying among unions as Donghaeng, a Samsung Electronics labor union that recently withdrew from the joint struggle headquarters leading the planned general strike, is demanding information-sharing in negotiations and an end to discrimination. Donghaeng, with more than 2,300 members—70% of whom are in the DX Division responsible for home appliances, smartphones, and TVs—left the higher-level union en masse after the joint struggle headquarters focused incentive demands mainly on the DS Division, which handles semiconductors.