Samsung Wage Deal Vote Begins; Non-Chip Employees Plan to Oppose

Samsung Electronics' labor and management have reached a tentative wage deal, and employees began voting on the agreement today. The deal ensures massive bonuses for memory chip division employees, but staff in other departments with less favorable conditions have expressed their intention to oppose it. According to Reuters, the tentative deal, reached at the last minute through government mediation, averted a planned 18-day strike, which is seen as a victory for both the company and the South Korean economy. However, the wage deal primarily benefits employees in the memory chip division, whose profits have soared amid the AI boom. Some of these employees are expected to receive bonuses of approximately $416,000 this year. Employees in the foundry and logic chip divisions will receive smaller, though still substantial, bonuses, while those in other departments such as smartphones and home appliances will receive even less. Lee Ho-seop, leader of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), said at a press conference today, 'This round of negotiations has effectively been reduced to bargaining over bonuses for the semiconductor memory division,' adding that 'this is a rushed result.' Approximately 89,000 employees are expected to participate in the vote. The voting is conducted electronically and will continue until 10:00 AM on the 27th.