Companies
Choi Seung-ho, head of Samsung Electronics union and Yeo Myung-koo, head of the People Team under Samsung's Device Solutions division and the company's chief management negotiator, pose for photographs after reaching a tentative pay deal in Suwon, South Korea, on May 20, 2026.
(Reuters/Yonhap )
Samsung Electronics' shares surged on Thursday after it clinched an 11th-hour deal with its South Korean union to avert a strike, although the terms which included bonuses of around US$416,000 for some workers gave rise to some concern.A planned 18-day strike by some 48,000 union members has now been suspended, while the agreement, which was mediated by the government, is put to a vote between May 22 and May 27. The union's leader has said he expects it to be ratified.
The deal sparked relief across South Korea. Samsung accounts for about a quarter of the country's exports and the planned strike was expected to inflict significant damage to the economy and dent global chip supply if it went ahead.
