Samsung Electronics unions deepen split over worker bonuses
July 16 (Asia Today) -- Divisions among Samsung Electronics labor unions are widening as unions representing different business units pursue separate compensation demands and bargaining strategies.
The Samsung Electronics Donghaeng Union, which primarily represents employees in the Device eXperience division, staged a rally Thursday demanding compensation equivalent to about 1,000 company shares per employee.
Meanwhile, the Samsung Electronics branch of the Samsung Group Super-Enterprise Union, whose membership is concentrated in the Device Solutions division, held its first policy committee meeting for the semiconductor business.
The divisions developed from a dispute over performance bonuses and have continued despite the conclusion of companywide wage negotiations.
The Donghaeng union held its rally near the main entrance of Samsung Electronics' Suwon campus in Gyeonggi Province.
"We strongly condemn management for unilaterally excluding the DX division and reaching a closed-door agreement without transparency," the union said.
More than 7,000 people were reported to have attended, more than twice the approximately 3,000 participants initially expected by organizers.
Participants wore black and carried signs reading "Same company, same rights," "Rest in peace, DX" and "Discrimination off, fairness on."
"Behind the company's remarkable achievements are the dedication and hard work of DX employees," the union said. "However, management created an extreme compensation gap between business divisions during the latest negotiations, leaving DX employees feeling excluded and relatively deprived."
The union called on Samsung Electronics to immediately offer each DX employee compensation equivalent to about 1,000 company shares.
It also demanded that the company secure funding in advance for companywide employee compensation in 2027 and disclose the amount transparently.
The Donghaeng union said it would hold another rally in Seoul's Seocho District unless the company takes additional action.
Lee Ho-seok, head of the Suwon branch of the National Samsung Electronics Union, attended Thursday's rally and suggested his union could join forces with Donghaeng over what union leaders described as management's exclusion of DX employees.
"To create one Samsung Electronics, rights, respect and compensation must be provided equally," Lee said. "Management must answer our questions."
The Super-Enterprise Union, meanwhile, held the kickoff meeting of its DS Division Policy Committee on Thursday.
The committee discussed its operating rules, plans for the 2027 wage and collective bargaining negotiations and its response to the company's Mega Project initiative.
The union said the committee would meet monthly and hold regular consultations with management.
The union is also preparing to request separate bargaining units that would allow employees in the DS and DX divisions to negotiate independently with management.
Choi Seung-ho, chairman of the Super-Enterprise Union's Samsung Electronics branch, said he intends to secure the change this year.
"The Super-Enterprise Union will responsibly lead the 2027 wage and collective bargaining negotiations rather than participate in joint negotiations," Choi said. "With about four months remaining before negotiations begin in early December, we will use the policy committee to develop a thorough set of demands."
The unions began moving separately after Samsung Electronics introduced a special performance bonus for the DS division in May.
As unions increasingly organized along business-unit lines, disputes among them intensified.
As of Thursday, the Super-Enterprise Union had 54,286 members, the Donghaeng union had 28,877 and the National Samsung Electronics Union had 22,826.
The Super-Enterprise Union previously represented a majority of Samsung Electronics' unionized workforce. Its membership declined after large numbers of DX employees left, while membership in the Donghaeng union and the National Samsung Electronics Union increased.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260716010006332
Copyright 2026 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 3:16 PM.