"Hunger Striker Yang Hyangja Urges 'Decisive Action' from Samsung Electronics Labor and Management... Jang Also Visits (Comprehensive)"

Jang Donghyuk: "President Lee and the Ruling Party Must Resolve the Issue"
Kim Moonsoo: "Yang's Hunger Strike Shows the Urgency of the Situation"

Hyangja Yang, the People Power Party's gubernatorial candidate for Gyeonggi Province, who has entered her second day of a hunger strike demanding a grand compromise between labor and management at Samsung Electronics, urged on the 19th, "Both labor and management must make responsible decisions with the national economy in mind."

People Power Party Permanent Election Committee Chairman Donghyuk Jang, Party Leader, and Hyangja Yang, People Power Party candidate for Gyeonggi Province governor, are discussing the semiconductor crisis and labor-management issues at Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi Province on the morning of the 19th. Photo by Yonhap News

Yang, a former executive at Samsung Electronics, made these remarks in front of the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Gyeonggi Province on the morning of May 19, during a meeting with Donghyuk Jang, leader of the People Power Party. She said, "I am here at this site with a single-minded determination to protect the semiconductor industry ecosystem and national competitiveness." Yang has been on a hunger strike at this location since the previous afternoon to prevent a general strike resulting from the labor-management conflict at Samsung Electronics. She and Jang, who visited the site that day, discussed the semiconductor crisis and the labor-management conflict for about 10 minutes.

Yang explained, "Recently, in conversations with people in the semiconductor industry, I heard that they are reducing wafer input," and added, "This is not simply an adjustment in production, but a serious signal that could affect the entire supply chain and all partner companies." She continued, "If the production line is disrupted even once due to a strike, global trust and the very competitiveness of Korea's semiconductor industry could be shaken," and added, "With a sense of urgency to prevent this situation at all costs, I am continuing my hunger strike."

Jang stated, "I visited early to encourage Yang for making such a major decision and to inform the public about these issues." He emphasized, "If semiconductors stop, Korea stops. Semiconductors are Korea's future." He further criticized President Lee Jaemyung and the Democratic Party of Korea for standing by with folded arms regarding the Samsung Electronics labor dispute, saying, "I hope President Lee and the Democratic Party, who passed the Yellow Envelope Act, will take direct action to quickly resolve the problems that this law has caused."

On this day, Kim Moonsoo, former Minister of Employment and Labor and permanent general campaign committee chairman of Yang's camp, as well as Yoo Uidong, People Power Party's candidate for the Pyeongtaek by-election, also visited the protest site. After talking with Yang along with Yoo, Kim told reporters, "Yang is facing a very tight campaign schedule as a gubernatorial candidate, but the fact that she is sitting here on a hunger strike shows how urgent the situation is," and added, "I came here to encourage her."

On the morning of the 19th, Yang Hyang-ja, the People Power Party's candidate for Gyeonggi Province governor, was conversing with Kim Moon-soo, former Minister of Employment and Labor and permanent general campaign committee chairman of her camp, and Yoo Ui-dong, the People Power Party's candidate for the Pyeongtaek by-election, at Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus protest site in Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News

Kim said, "When I served as governor of Gyeonggi Province for eight years, I spent six of those years persuading to attract (the Pyeongtaek Campus)," expressing his regret about the current strike situation. He added, "If we think about where Korea should head in the future, I hope labor and management will immediately come together to resolve the issue through dialogue."

Meanwhile, Choo Mi-ae, the Democratic Party’s candidate for governor of Gyeonggi Province, is taking a cautious approach regarding the labor union strike. On the afternoon of the 19th, she plans to focus on policy by announcing a joint pledge related to semiconductors and holding a press conference urging the inclusion of the Southern Gyeonggi Metropolitan Railway in the 5th National Railway Network Plan. She will also attend a seminar hosted by the Korea Generative AI Foundation.

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