Korean Media: Samsung Electronics Union Demands 40 Trillion KRW Bonus!
On April 13, South Korean media outlet "Today's Finance" published an article stating that the Samsung Electronics union has demanded the company pay 15% of its annual operating profit as performance bonuses.
Following Samsung Electronics' recent announcement of a record-high operating profit of 57.2 trillion KRW in the first quarter, the union argued that if the full-year operating profit reaches 270 trillion KRW, 40.5 trillion KRW (approximately 184 billion RMB) should be allocated for performance bonuses. The union has consistently insisted on distributing 15% of the operating profit as performance bonuses.
The requested 15% operating profit ratio exceeds Samsung Electronics’ R&D investment of 37.7 trillion KRW from last year and is equivalent to four times the company’s annual dividend of 11.1079 trillion KRW. According to the union’s calculations, under these conditions, each employee in Samsung’s memory business division could receive an average pre-tax performance bonus of 620 million KRW (approximately 2.852 million CNY).
However, Samsung Electronics maintains that the union’s demands are excessively high. In the era of artificial intelligence, the high-tech semiconductor industry faces intense competition—not only within South Korea but also globally among countries such as China, the United States, and Japan. The company fears that excessive spending on employee benefits may lead to missed investment opportunities. Instead, Samsung proposes offering employees “the highest industry-standard compensation,” rather than allocating 15% of operating profit as bonuses.
Shareholders have also responded negatively. They argue that even compared to dividends paid to shareholders, such performance bonuses would be unreasonable. Last year, Samsung Electronics distributed 11.1 trillion KRW in dividends to shareholders, including special dividends. If the union’s demands were met, employee performance bonuses would amount to four times the shareholder dividends. As of the end of last year, Samsung Electronics had 4.2 million shareholders, with 99.99% being minority shareholders. In contrast, the semiconductor division of Samsung Electronics employs approximately 78,000 people.
The Samsung Electronics union announced the suspension of negotiations at the end of last month and plans to hold a rally on the 23rd at the Pyeongtaek campus. If no agreement is reached by then, the union intends to launch a general strike from May 21 to June 7.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862355386769412/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.