Korean Court: Samsung Union to Face Daily Fine of About 100 Million Korean Won if Order Not Followed

On May 18, a South Korean court ruled that if Samsung’s union fails to comply with the court order, it will be fined roughly 100 million South Korean won per day. Earlier, the same court partially granted Samsung Electronics’ request for an injunction against the union’s planned strike, leading to expectations the walkout will likely not move forward. Samsung Electronics’ union initially planned an 18-day general strike starting on May 21. The core motivation for the action is to secure a larger share of profits from the company’s AI semiconductor business, with the union targeting 2026—what’s projected to be a record-high profit year for the unit. The union’s demands include removing the cap on performance bonuses, earmarking 15% of the company’s operating profit for performance bonus funds, and formalizing and making the bonus process transparent. They are also asking for a 7% base salary increase to narrow the wage gap with competitor SK Hynix. Samsung’s management, however, is only willing to offer either a one-time special bonus or a limited profit-sharing plan of 10%. The company is refusing to make permanent system changes over concerns that such moves would raise long-term operating costs, harm competitiveness, and impact shareholder interests. According to market data from Bitget, shares of Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) surged more than 6.5% intraday as fears of the strike moving forward faded.