--- title: "Samsung Electronics shares turn positive; reports indicate union concessions and potential for agreement" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/286865436.md" description: "The chairman of the Korean Labor Relations Commission stated that although significant differences remain between the two parties, they have narrowed compared to Monday, and the possibility of reaching an agreement still exists. South Korea's Prime Minister warned over the weekend that if negotiations fail to make progress, the government will initiate emergency arbitration procedures to forcibly suspend strike actions. Samsung Electronics shares turned positive, erasing an earlier 5.3% decline" datetime: "2026-05-19T06:36:45.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/286865436.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286865436.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/286865436.md) --- # Samsung Electronics shares turn positive; reports indicate union concessions and potential for agreement The pay dispute between Samsung Electronics and its union is approaching a critical point. If negotiations break down, more than 45,000 workers will launch the largest strike in Samsung's history this Thursday, threatening not only South Korea's exports but also potentially impacting the global semiconductor supply chain. Previous reports indicated that both sides resumed government-mediated negotiations on Tuesday. The mediator, Chairman of the Korean Labor Relations Commission, stated that **although significant differences remain between the two parties, they have narrowed compared to Monday, and the possibility of reaching an agreement still exists.** South Korea's Prime Minister warned over the weekend that if negotiations fail to make progress, the government will initiate emergency arbitration procedures to forcibly suspend strike actions. Samsung Electronics shares turned positive, erasing an earlier 5.3% decline. ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/3300e21d-0739-481e-a3e8-9e52513fc19b.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) ## Dual Pressure from Government and Business Community The strike is scheduled to begin on Thursday and last for 18 days. As the world's largest memory chip manufacturer, Samsung Electronics accounts for approximately one-quarter of South Korea's total exports. South Korean business groups publicly called on the union on Monday to abandon its strike plans, while also urging the government to "immediately" invoke the emergency arbitration mechanism. The strike threat comes at a time of urgent global memory chip supply shortages. Memory chips are core components for AI data centers, smartphones, and laptops. The supply-demand imbalance has driven substantial profit increases for Samsung and its peers in recent months. Samsung's major customers include tech giants such as Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, and Nvidia. Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong publicly apologized for the labor dispute last Saturday, marking his first public statement on the matter. ## Pay Gap Becomes Root of Conflict According to previous media reports, this labor-management confrontation is the most severe conflict between Samsung and its union since the establishment of Samsung's first union in 2020, following Lee Jae-yong's promise to abandon anti-union practices. The core of the conflict lies in the widening gap in compensation compared to competitor SK Hynix. Leveraging its position as the first supplier of high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia, SK Hynix comprehensively adjusted its compensation structure last year, resulting in bonus levels more than three times higher than those of Samsung employees. Union members stated that this gap has accelerated the loss of talent to SK Hynix and also spurred a surge in Samsung union membership. The union has demanded that Samsung abolish the cap limiting bonuses to 50% of annual salary, include 15% of annual operating profits in an employee shared bonus pool, and incorporate these arrangements into labor contracts. Samsung has proposed issuing "special" bonuses to employees in its memory chip division, claiming the amounts would exceed SK Hynix's levels, while insisting on maintaining the current bonus cap. Employee dissatisfaction at Samsung has been further exacerbated by the company's record profits driven by the AI wave. ### Related Stocks - [SSNGY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SSNGY.US.md) - [09347.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09347.HK.md) - [07709.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07709.HK.md) - [SOXL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SOXL.US.md) - [RSPT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RSPT.US.md) - [DRAM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/DRAM.US.md) - [07747.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/07747.HK.md) - [GOOGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOGL.US.md) - [GOOG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOG.US.md) - [AAPL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPL.US.md) - [AMZN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AMZN.US.md) - [NVDA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDA.US.md) - [SMSN.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SMSN.UK.md) - [NVD.DE](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVD.DE.md) ## Related News & Research - [Samsung and labor union to meet in 'last chance' to avert strike](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286675762.md) - [Key facts: Samsung to Begin 18-Day Strike May 21; Market Cap Tops $1T](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286483779.md) - [Samsung Electronics Management, Union Resume Talks to Avoid Strike — Update](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286747994.md) - [Samsung Elec, South Korea union to resume pay talks on Monday, union says](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286640912.md) - [Samsung, South Korean Union Resume Talks As Strike Threat Risks Disrupting Memory Chip Fabs](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286647175.md)