Samsung’s 10.5%-of-profit bonus formula is only the second written profit-share agreement at a major Korean firm. Kakao’s union is already asking for more.
Samsung Electronics’ unionised workforce voted in favour of the government-mediated pay agreement on Wednesday, formally closing the deal that narrowly survived an injunction filing from a smaller non-chip union on Tuesday. The vote settles, in the immediate term, the largest labour dispute in the global semiconductor industry.
The wider effect is more durable: the agreement marks the first major win for a Samsung union in the company’s 56-year history, and it is being read across Korean industry as a structural shift in how labour bargaining works.
The substance of the deal is what makes it unusual. Samsung has agreed in writing to allocate 10.5% of its semiconductor operating profit to special bonuses for chip workers. It is, on Reuters’ count, only the second time a major South Korean company has put a fixed-percentage profit-share commitment into a binding labour agreement.
The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!Some memory-division employees will receive total bonus packages worth around $416,000 over the agreement period. The non-chip Donghaeng union, which had filed the injunction at Suwon District Court, has signalled it intends to keep pressing for a revised allocation regardless of the vote.
