Employees represented by unions at Samsung Electronics have voted to accept a disputed compensation package that prevents a potential 18-day work stoppage while creating significant wage disparities across different divisions of the technology giant.
Representatives from two labor unions announced Wednesday that 74% of the 62,616 employees who participated in the vote supported the compensation agreement.
Samsung’s stock price jumped 6% following the news, with additional gains driven by investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence technology that has boosted semiconductor company valuations.
The settlement, brokered by government mediators following five months of contentious negotiations, has brought widespread relief throughout South Korea, where Samsung represents approximately 25% of the nation’s total exports.
Developed amid intense pressure to match the exceptionally high compensation packages offered by competing chipmaker SK Hynix, the agreement primarily favors employees working in the company’s memory chip operations, which have experienced significant profit growth due to massive global AI investments. Some employees in this division are expected to earn bonuses approaching $416,000 during the current year.
Employees in Samsung’s additional chip manufacturing units will earn smaller but still significant bonuses, while workers in consumer electronics departments will receive considerably less compensation in comparison.
“The atmosphere is pretty gloomy and many of us lost motivation,” said one chip foundry worker in Pyeongtaek, declining to be identified.
“It really is an ironic situation — being depressed despite receiving more money.”
According to the settlement terms, all semiconductor workers will earn a standard cash bonus equivalent to 50% of their yearly wages. Samsung will additionally allocate 10.5% of its chip division’s operating profits for special bonuses, distributed as company stock. One-third of these shares become tradable immediately, another third becomes available after one year, and the final portion after two years.
Bonus distributions depend on Samsung achieving specific profit targets. The company must generate more than 200 trillion won in yearly operating profits from 2026 through 2028, and 100 trillion won per year from 2029 through 2035.
Samsung’s annual profits for this year are projected to reach 300 trillion won ($200 billion), representing the company’s highest earnings ever and far exceeding its previous record of 58.9 trillion won established in 2018.
