2026-05-18 13:01:48

Samsung Electronics has entered emergency negotiations with its labour unions in a bid to prevent what could become the largest strike in the company’s history.

More than 45,000 workers are threatening to walk out for 18 days beginning on Thursday (21.05.26), raising fears of major disruption to global semiconductor supply chains and the South Korean economy.

The potential industrial action comes during an ongoing worldwide shortage of memory chips, which are essential for artificial intelligence data centres, smartphones and laptops.

Samsung is the world’s largest memory chipmaker and accounts for nearly a quarter of South Korea’s exports, making the dispute particularly significant for the country’s economy.

Talks resumed after government-mediated negotiations over wages and bonuses collapsed last week.

Further pressure was added after a South Korean court partially approved Samsung’s request for an injunction limiting strike activity.

The ruling requires unions to avoid disrupting production and maintain safety and damage-prevention operations during any industrial action.

According to court officials, unions could face fines of 100 million won per day if the order is breached, while union leaders may be fined 10 million won daily.

Despite the ruling, union representatives insisted they would continue pursuing strike action if negotiations fail.

The union said the decision would not deter members but pledged to engage “seriously” in talks.

Samsung declined to publicly comment on the negotiations.

South Korean officials have increasingly voiced concern over the dispute and its potential impact on economic growth and exports.

The country’s president Lee Jae-myung said both workers’ rights and management rights needed to be respected equally.

He wrote on X: “In South Korea, which has adopted a liberal democratic order and capitalist market economy, labour should be respected as much as businesses, and corporate management rights should be respected as much as labour rights.”

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok also warned the government was prepared to use emergency arbitration powers to prevent disruption.

Reports in South Korean media suggested executives from Samsung’s semiconductor division had privately warned union leaders that customers, including Nvidia, were concerned about product quality and shipment reliability during any strike.

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