Samsung Executives Apologize to Public, Urge Union for Dialogue... Travel to Pyeongtaek to Persuade Choi Seungho (Comprehensive)

Statement Issued by Samsung Executives
"Union Is Family, We Will Engage in Dialogue with an Open Attitude"
"We Cannot Afford to Waste Time on Internal Company Issues"

On May 15, the executive team of Samsung Electronics once again urged the labor union, which has declared a general strike, to come to the table for dialogue, stating, "We will engage in discussions with an unconditionally open attitude." That afternoon, Young-Hyun Jeon, Vice Chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics and Head of the Device Solutions (DS) division, along with other DS division presidents, planned to visit Pyeongtaek to meet Choi Seungho, head of the Samsung Electronics branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union, in an effort to persuade the union.

On May 15, Samsung Electronics released a statement on behalf of its executive team, saying, "We consider the union as part of the family and a community of shared destiny, and will engage in dialogue with an unconditionally open attitude." The statement continued, "We once again urge the union to come to the table as soon as possible, bearing in mind the concerns of the public and the national economy."

The executive team collectively expressed, "We apologize for causing significant concern and burden to the public, shareholders, and the government due to labor-management issues at Samsung Electronics." They continued, "As our achievements have grown, society's expectations of Samsung have become ever more demanding and greater, but we have failed to fully recognize this. The executive team at Samsung Electronics feels a heavy sense of responsibility."

Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus is bustling with employees arriving and the continuous flow of shuttle buses. Photo by Dongjoo Yoon

They further stated, "We are now in an era of infinite competition, where the global business environment changes rapidly at every moment," and added, "We cannot afford to waste time on internal company issues."

They went on to emphasize the importance of the semiconductor industry. "Now is the time for labor and management to unite as one, to secure business competitiveness through continuous technological innovation and bold investments for the future," they said. "Unlike other industries, semiconductors require nonstop, 24-hour operations, so a strike must never occur in this sector," they stressed. They also added, "If we fail to keep our promises to customers, we will completely lose our trust capital."

The executives stressed, "We, as the executive team, will come together and pool our wisdom, looking both at the current economic situation and the long-term future of South Korea." The statement was signed by Vice Chairman and CEO Young-Hyun Jeon, President and CEO Tae Moon Roh, as well as Kim Soo-mok, Kim Yong-gwan, Kim Woo-joon, Kim Won-kyung, Nam Seok-woo, Mauro Porcini, Park Seung-hee, Park Yong-in, Park Hong-geun, Baek Soo-hyun, Song Jae-hyuk, and Yong Seok-woo, among others.

Previously, after the second round of post-mediation between labor and management, overseen by the Central Labor Relations Commission, ended in failure, management requested additional talks with the union. However, on this day, the union announced that it would go ahead with a general strike on the 21st, stating that management's position had not changed.

Meanwhile, according to industry sources, on the afternoon of the 15th, Vice Chairman Jeon, along with Kim Yong-gwan, President in charge of DS division business strategy, Han Jin-man, President of the Foundry Business Division, Song Jae-hyuk, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and a total of seven semiconductor division executives visited the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. They are expected to meet with Chairman Choi in Pyeongtaek and directly request to resume discussions regarding incentive negotiations. This move is interpreted as a direct effort by the executives to prevent the general strike planned by the union on the 21st.

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