Samsung Electronics Labor Deal Approved With 73.7% Support, 95.5% Turnout

Final turnout reached 95.5%

Samsung Electronics Co.'s tentative labor agreement has been approved, with 73.7% of union members voting in favor in a decisive result. Strong backing from workers in the chip division appeared to drive the outcome.

The approval rate for the tentative deal reached 73.7%, the Korean Metal Workers' Union Samsung Electronics Branch, the company's majority union, said on May 27. Final turnout was 95.5%, meaning nearly all union members cast ballots.

Turnout among members of the majority union was 96.5%, with 80.6% voting in favor. At the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union, the second-largest union, turnout was 89% and support for the deal was 21.1%.

The tentative agreement was ratified after more than half of eligible voters took part and more than half of those voters backed the proposal. A joint bargaining group led by the majority union is scheduled to hold a signing ceremony for the 2026 wage agreement later on May 27.

Turnout in the vote on the tentative agreement had already exceeded 85% within three days of the ballot opening. It reached 93.45% on May 26, extending strong participation.

The industry had widely expected the proposal to pass. About 80% of the majority union's roughly 57,000 eligible voters belong to the semiconductor division, while the Donghaeng Union, which is centered on the consumer electronics and mobile division and opposes the deal, was unable to participate in the vote.

The tentative agreement includes an average wage increase of 6.2%, consisting of a 4.1% base-pay increase and a 2.1% performance-based increase. It also includes a new special management performance bonus for the Device Solutions division, funded by 10.5% of operating profit. Under that formula, an employee in the memory business with annual pay of 100 million won ($72,500) would receive 57 million won ($41,300) from the special bonus alone.

A legal dispute with shareholders is also nearing. The Korea Shareholder Activism Headquarters, a shareholder advocacy group led by minority shareholder platform Act, is taking a hard-line stance, arguing that the tentative agreement infringes on the authority of the board and shareholders' meeting under commercial law over profit disposition.

Won Jong-hwan, Hankyung.com reporter, won0403@hankyung.com