Samsung Electronics unions authorize full-scale strike over uncapped incentive pay cap
Samsung Electronics’ labor unions have authorized a full-scale strike, with 93.1% voting in favor after weeks of stalled bargaining over wages and a cap on performance bonuses. The unions say they will hold a rally on May 23 and push toward a nationwide walkout in May if their demands aren’t met. The central issue is removing the cap on the Overachievement Incentive Pay, or OPI, which is currently limited to up to 50% of an employee’s annual salary.
The company and the unions have been negotiating over how to fund OPI. Samsung proposed that OPI resources be drawn from either Economic Value Added (EVA) at 20% or from 10% of the company’s operating profit. In addition to OPI, Samsung offered a 6.2% wage increase, a grant of 20 stock units to employees, raising the annual salary cap by job grade, and expanded long-service leave.
The vote was held by three unions that together represent Samsung Electronics workers: the Samsung Electronics Union for Core Company Workers, the National Samsung Electronics Union, and Samsung Electronics Union Partners. Of 89,874 eligible members, 66,019 participated in the ballot (a 73.5% turnout), and 61,456 voted in favor.
A strike would be the first large-scale action at Samsung Electronics since around 2024, and industry observers say a disruption could hurt the company’s near-term profitability. The unions note that more than 60% of members belong to the memory division, which handles high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products used in high-performance computing. Analysts estimate that a full strike could threaten up to 9 trillion won in operating profit.
The dispute comes amid a broader global context of rising energy costs and supply-chain uncertainty driven by tensions in the Middle East and other regions. Industry insiders cited these pressures as intensifying management anxiety about the cost of a protracted walkout, while critics described the union’s demand for uncapped OPI as excessive.
Samsung Electronics is Korea’s largest employer and a global maker of memory chips, displays, and mobile devices. Its memory business, including HBM, is a major supplier to global tech firms, data centers, and advanced computing applications. Any sustained disruption could ripple through international supply chains, affecting producers and consumers outside Korea, including U.S. technology and data-center companies that rely on Samsung’s memory products.
In explaining the dispute, a industry official close to the case criticized the unions’ stance, saying the push to remove the OPI cap represents a form of “union self-interest” that could undermine broader corporate stability in a volatile market environment. The unions have vowed to continue negotiations and publicly pressure management while preparing for demonstrations, with the May strike date looming if talks do not progress.