Yeo Myeong-gu (L), head of Samsung Electronics Co.'s device solutions division's people team, and Choi Seung-ho, head of Samsung's largest labor union, shake hands at the Gyeonggi District Employment and Labor Office in Suwon, south of Seoul, South Korea. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
May 22 (Asia Today) -- Samsung Electronics labor unions began voting Thursday on a tentative wage agreement, but sharp divisions between the company's semiconductor and device divisions are emerging as a major source of tension.
Choi Seung-ho, chairman of the Samsung Electronics branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union-affiliated Samsung Group labor organization, said he would hand over 2026 negotiations to the remaining union leadership and seek a confidence vote if the agreement is rejected.
"The union must follow the will of its members," Choi said. "I will not change my direction."
Samsung Electronics unions began voting on the tentative agreement at 2:12 p.m. Thursday. The vote will continue through Tuesday.
