Samsung union turnout for bonus deal vote tops 80%, with fissures forming among divisions

Samsung Electronics employees voted on a tentative 2026 wage and collective bargaining agreement with over 80 percent turnout just two days after voting began on Friday afternoon.

Voting will continue through 10 a.m. on Wednesday. The agreement will be finalized if a simple majority of more than half of all eligible voters approves.

The voting began at 2:12 p.m. on Friday and recorded a combined turnout of 80.47 percent as of 6:40 p.m. Saturday, the second day of voting. The turnout stood at 82.86 percent as of Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

At the Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group United Union (SGUU), the largest union within Samsung Electronics, 46,185 of 57,290 eligible voters participated for a turnout of 80.62 percent. The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), the company’s second-largest union, also posted a high participation rate, with 6,502 of 8,187 eligible members voting for a turnout of 79.42 percent.

The high turnout reflects internal dissatisfaction over widening bonus disparities and an intense struggle between labor unions over strategy and direction.

As performance bonus gaps between the semiconductor division and other business units are expected to widen to as much as 10-fold, dissatisfaction has grown among employees in consumer electronics and mobile businesses. Many of those workers have reportedly joined the National Samsung Electronics Union and the Samsung Electronics Labor Union, the company’s third-largest union.

The NSEU and the Samsung Electronics Labor Union are currently leading a strong campaign urging members to reject the agreement, arguing that it discriminates between business divisions.

In response, Choi Seung-ho, head of the SGUU, said, “If the agreement is rejected, I will hand over bargaining authority to the remaining executive leadership.” Choi also said that he will push ahead with a confidence vote on his leadership in June, regardless of the union vote results.

In addition to internal tensions, minority shareholders have also begun pushing back against the agreement. An organization representing retail investors said Samsung Electronics accepted a request filed through the minority shareholder platform Act seeking access to inspect and copy the shareholder registry.

The shareholders plan to secure the registry around Wednesday or Thursday before formally requesting that an extraordinary shareholder meeting be convened.

"The company’s decision to provide special bonuses infringed upon the legitimate rights of shareholders,” the organization said in a press conference held at the Supreme Court building in southern Seoul on Friday, while again emphasizing the need for an extraordinary shareholder meeting.

The shareholders group also said it plans to pursue legal action, including filing for an injunction to suspend the effect of the tentative wage agreement and a lawsuit seeking confirmation that the agreement is invalid, along with the request to convene the extraordinary meeting.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY KO SEUNG-PYO [[email protected]]