"KRW 6 Million? Do You Think We're Beggars?"... Internal Union Conflict Intensifies at Samsung Electronics Over Performance Bonus Disparities

DX Division Protests Over Hundreds-Fold Bonus Gap Within Same Company
Internal Divisions Deepen Ahead of Union Vote... Outcome Uncertain

Samsung Electronics has narrowly averted an all-out strike through a dramatic tentative agreement with its labor union, but now internal conflict between business divisions over performance bonus disparities is spreading within the company.

Samsung Electronics labor and management will conduct a vote on the tentative wage negotiation agreement until the 27th. However, tensions are escalating between business divisions over the distribution of performance bonuses. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to industry sources on May 23, Samsung Electronics labor and management reached a "2026 Performance Bonus Tentative Labor-Management Agreement" on May 20. The key point is the introduction of a "Special Management Performance Bonus," which will operate for the next ten years. This system will have no upper limit on payouts, with 10.5% of business performance agreed upon by labor and management being allocated as the bonus pool. Performance bonuses will be distributed with 40% allocated to the entire Semiconductor (DS) Division and 60% to each individual business unit within DS.

Industry estimates suggest that if the DS Division's operating profit this year is assumed to be around KRW 300 trillion, employees in the Memory Business Unit could receive about KRW 560 million per person, while those in common (shared) organizations would receive around KRW 440 million each. Even employees in the loss-making Foundry and System LSI business units are expected to receive approximately KRW 160 million each.

In contrast, employees in the Device eXperience (DX) Division, which handles smartphones, TVs, and home appliances, are reportedly set to receive only about KRW 6 million each in performance bonuses. As the gap within the same company now ranges from tens to even hundreds of times, DX employees have expressed strong discontent on the company’s internal bulletin board, posting messages such as "Do you think we're beggars?" and voicing their opposition.

The movement to join unions has also surged. According to the Samsung Electronics Together Union, which has a high proportion of DX Division employees, membership has surpassed 10,000 as of May 21, up from the previous level of around 2,000. This is being interpreted as a rallying effort to vote against the tentative agreement.

Cracks are also emerging within the DS Division. Among employees in the chronically unprofitable System LSI and Foundry business units, the self-deprecating term "Le Pang" has surfaced. While some employees protest that "the union has abandoned Le Pang," others in different business units argue that "even KRW 160 million is excessive," fueling further internal conflict.

The tentative agreement will be subject to a union member vote from May 22 to May 27. Given that about 55,000 employees belong to the Memory Business Unit and common organizations, many expect the agreement to pass. However, with internal opposition proving stronger than anticipated, the outcome remains uncertain.

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