Minister of Employment and Labor Meets Samsung Electronics Management: "Please Actively Engage in Dialogue"

Calls for Resumption of Labor-Management Dialogue
Five Days Before General Strike

With five days remaining before the general strike announced by the Samsung Electronics labor union, Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, met with Samsung Electronics management on May 16 to urge the resumption of labor-management dialogue and stepped in as a mediator.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Minister Kim held a meeting with the management of Samsung Electronics for about an hour that day. The ministry stated, "Minister Kim explained the details of his meeting with the labor union the previous day, as well as the government's position, to the management, and requested that they actively engage in dialogue to resolve the issues."

Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, is attending the Emergency Economic Headquarters Meeting and the Ministry of Economy and Real Estate Relations Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 15th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The previous day, Minister Kim also met with Choi Seungho, head of the Samsung Electronics branch of the Samsung Group Federation of Unions, which is the largest labor union at Samsung Electronics. In the current round of negotiations, the union is demanding that 15% of operating profit be allocated as performance bonuses and that the current cap on the Outperform Incentive (OPI) be abolished.

In contrast, management maintains its stance to keep the current performance bonus system, but says it can supplement it through special awards without caps.

The union plans to launch an 18-day general strike from May 21 to June 7. The union claims that up to 50,000 members could participate in the strike.

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