PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — Thousands of Samsung Electronics employees demonstrated Thursday outside the company’s semiconductor manufacturing facility in South Korea, calling for increased compensation and warning of potential work stoppages as artificial intelligence demand sends memory chip revenues soaring.
Carrying protest signs and banners, workers assembled at the factory location under heavy police supervision, chanting demands to “make compensation transparent and remove maximum limits on bonuses!” Union representatives estimated approximately 40,000 members joined the demonstration, though police have not yet confirmed attendance figures.
The demonstration occurred just hours after Samsung’s competitor SK Hynix announced record-breaking quarterly earnings and operating profits for the first three months of the year, crediting worldwide expansion in data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure that has increased demand for memory semiconductors.
Samsung and SK Hynix together manufacture roughly two-thirds of the world’s memory chips. Samsung projected earlier this month that its first-quarter operating profits would hit a record 57.2 trillion won ($38.6 billion), exceeding the 37.6 trillion won ($25.4 billion) that SK Hynix reported Thursday, though Samsung operates a broader range of products including mobile devices and home electronics.
The Samsung workers’ union, representing approximately 74,000 employees, contends the corporation has not provided sufficient compensation despite exceptional financial results. Union leaders have declined management’s offer of restricted stock bonuses and are pushing for elimination of bonus limitations.
Union officials are threatening to initiate an 18-day work stoppage beginning May 21 if management negotiations fail, estimating such action would cost Samsung over 1 trillion won ($676 million) daily.
“We won’t stop this fight until our fair demands are met,” declared union leader Choi Seung-ho, speaking through a megaphone from an elevated crane platform.
Although semiconductor companies have prospered during the AI surge, Middle Eastern conflicts have created uncertainty for future prospects, interrupting supplies of essential materials like helium needed for chip production and increasing energy expenses.
