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Concerns over strike at Samsung grow as unions prepare vests — and alleged blacklist

Published: 14 Apr. 2026, 19:51

Members of the National Samsung Electronics Union hold a rally at Samsung Electronics’ Giheung chip campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on July 22, 2024, ahead of a general strike. [YONHAP]

Concerns are growing over a potential general strike at Samsung Electronics in May, with the company’s labor union distributing thousands of protest vests while facing allegations that it created a “blacklist” of nonunion employees.

A joint bargaining group of the company's employees — comprising the Samsung Electronics chapter of the Samsung Group United Union (SGUU), the National Samsung Electronics Union and the Samsung Electronics Labor Union — distributed 8,000 protest vests — a common "uniform" for Korean unions when staging strikes — at its Giheung campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi, ahead of a planned rally set for April 23 at the Pyeongtaek campus, according to industry sources Tuesday. Protest vests were also handed out earlier this month at the Hwaseong campus.

As the union pushes ahead with plans for a general strike, Samsung Electronics has requested a police investigation after receiving information that a so-called blacklist containing information on union membership status and those not participating in the strike was circulating internally.

“We have confirmed that a list containing the departments, names, employee identification numbers and union membership status of dozens of employees was shared in a group messaging chat room within a specific department,” the company said in an internal notice issued on Friday.

It stated that extracting and sharing employee information for purposes unrelated to work constitutes a clear criminal act and a serious violation of human rights, and that it had filed a criminal complaint with the Hwaseong Dongtan Police Precinct in Gyeonggi for alleged violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.

A Samsung Electronics flag flies in front of the company's building in Seocho District, southern Seoul on Jan. 29. [YONHAP]

Employees believed to be union members are suspected of compiling the list by entering colleagues' employee identification numbers into the union’s membership website and using a “duplicate ID check” function to identify nonunion employees.

Last month, Choi Seung-ho, head of the Samsung Electronics chapter of the SGUU, alluded to potential disadvantages, including identification or dismissal for people who do not participate in the strike.

“Those who do not participate in the strike and continue working for the company will be managed through a list,” Choi said on YouTube.

The union is demanding performance bonuses equivalent to 15 percent of operating profit, higher than the 10 percent benchmark set by rival SK hynix.

Market estimates suggest Samsung Electronics’ annual operating profit could reach as much as 300 trillion won ($204 billion) this year, translating into bonus payouts of around 45 trillion won under the union’s proposal.

Members of the Samsung labor union chant slogans during a press conference calling for improvements to the bonus system in front of Samsung Electronics’ office in Seocho District, southern Seoul on Sept. 30, 2025. [NEWS1]

This would amount to well over 600 million won per employee in the memory division, exceeding four times the approximately 11.1 trillion won in dividends paid to 4.2 million shareholders last year. It would also surpass the company’s 37.7 trillion won investment in research and development.

While the company maintains that the demand is difficult to accept, the union has not budged.

The labor group plans to hold a large-scale rally at the Pyeongtaek campus on April 23 before launching an 18-day strike from May 21 to June 7, it said.

If the strike takes place, disruptions to Samsung's semiconductor production lines will be inevitable.

Industry insiders express concerns over the internal conflict, which comes at a time when global Big Tech is competing fiercely for dominance in the semiconductor sector.

They warn that if Samsung Electronics, the country’s top company, becomes mired in labor disputes, it could lead to a decline in external credibility as well as weakened competitiveness.

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 YI WOO-LIM [[email protected]]