Industry Minister Wields the 'Emergency Adjustment' Card... Labor Minister Urges Resolution Through Dialogue

Kim Junggwan: "Emergency Adjustment Unavoidable If Strike Occurs"
Kim Younghoon: "Negotiation Is As Difficult As Striking – Let's Live Together"

Amid the Samsung Electronics union's announcement of a general strike scheduled for the 21st, tensions within the government have reached their peak. Kim Junggwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, has issued a warning about the potential economic catastrophe resulting from the strike and has taken the lead in considering the invocation of the “emergency adjustment authority.” Meanwhile, Kim Young-hoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, drawing on his experience as a former labor leader, is appealing for dialogue and negotiation.

On May 14, Minister Kim Junggwan highlighted the significance of Samsung Electronics to the South Korean economy on his social media, describing the company’s semiconductor business as Korea’s unrivaled growth engine and virtually its only core strategic asset. He further stated, “The moment we lose our competitive edge, it’s not about coming in second place – survival itself becomes difficult, and we risk a rapid decline.” He warned, “If a strike occurs under these circumstances, it will cause irreparable economic damage.”

On April 14th, the 'K-Consumer Goods Export Supply Chain Strengthening Financial Support Agreement Ceremony between Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and Woori Bank' was held at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in Jongno District, Seoul. Kim Junggwann, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, who attended the ceremony, is delivering a greeting. 2026.04.14 Photo by Dongju Yoon

Minister Kim explained, “If factory operations are halted, daily production losses could reach up to 1 trillion won. Since wafer processing takes more than five months and if all wafers currently being processed are damaged, the total losses could reach up to 100 trillion won.” He added, “This could inflict enormous damage on more than 1,700 partner companies.” Minister Kim also raised concerns that such an event could result in an irreversible loss of trust in global supply chains and have lasting negative effects on the South Korean economy, including the loss of jobs and income. He emphasized, “Given the gravity of this issue and the unimaginable ripple effects, a strike must be prevented at all costs,” and added, “As the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, I believe that if a strike does occur, emergency adjustment would be unavoidable.”

On the same day, Minister Kim Young-hoon posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, “Democracy is about believing in the power of dialogue,” and stressed, “There is no company without workers, and no labor union is established to bring down a company.” Including hashtags such as “#LetsLiveTogether” and “#NeedForDialogue,” he shared, “In my experience, negotiation was even more challenging than striking. If the strike itself is not the goal, we must ultimately resolve things through negotiation.” As the minister responsible for deciding on the invocation of emergency adjustment authority, Kim Young-hoon showed a cautious and reserved approach to direct intervention, yet, drawing on his background as a labor activist, strongly urged the union to make a decisive move.

Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, is touching his glasses before speaking at the meeting of relevant ministers on the implementation of the amended Labor Union Act held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on March 4, 2026. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Minister Kim previously served as chairperson of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and is a former locomotive engineer at Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL). From 2010 to 2012, he led the KCTU and once went on a hunger strike lasting over 20 days to improve labor conditions. An industry official commented, “Even a minister who knows the inner workings of the labor movement better than anyone, and is considered ‘pro-labor,’ is now making an impassioned appeal for a resolution through dialogue in the face of the Samsung Electronics union’s planned general strike.”

The Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group’s super-enterprise union has announced plans to proceed with an 18-day general strike from May 21 to June 7 as scheduled. The National Labor Relations Commission has officially requested that both Samsung Electronics management and labor participate again in follow-up mediation procedures on the 16th. Previously, both sides had continued their first follow-up mediation from May 11 to the early hours of May 13, but negotiations ultimately broke down when the Samsung Electronics union walked out. In the first quarter of this year, the Device Solutions (DS) division of Samsung Electronics achieved an operating profit of 53.7 trillion won, accounting for 94% of the company’s total operating profit. The entry into a memory semiconductor supercycle, along with increased sales of HBM (high-bandwidth memory) and general-purpose DRAM and NAND, drove the earnings surge. As a result, the union has consistently demanded that 15% of operating profits be fixed as performance bonuses for the semiconductor (DS·Device Solutions) division and that the institutional upper limit of “50% of annual salary” for bonuses be abolished.

On the 23rd, union members shouted slogans at the "Change Transparently, Abolish the Upper Limit - 4/23 Struggle Resolution Rally" held by the Samsung Electronics Labor Union Joint Struggle Headquarters in front of Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.