By Heekyong Yang
SEOUL, May 18 (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics and its South Korean labour union are set to join a new round of government-mediated pay talks on Monday, in a bid to avert a strike at the tech giant, which accounts for nearly a quarter of the country’s exports.
The talks resume days after a first round of government-mediated negotiations over pay and bonus schemes collapsed, ahead of a strike scheduled to begin on Thursday at the world’s largest memory chipmaker.
South Korean government officials, including the prime minister and finance minister, have voiced concerns that a strike should be avoided at all costs, warning it could pose significant risk to economic growth, exports and financial markets.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said in a social media post on Monday that corporate management rights should be respected as much as labour rights in the country’s free-market economy.
“In South Korea, which has adopted a liberal democratic order and capitalist market economy, labour should be respected as much as businesses, and corporate management rights should be respected as much as labour rights,” Lee wrote on X.
He said that workers should receive fair compensation for their labour, while shareholders who bear risks and losses through investments also deserve a share of corporate profit.
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said on Sunday the government would pursue all options, including emergency arbitration, to prevent a strike.
An emergency arbitration order, which can be invoked by the labour minister if the country deems that a dispute is likely to harm the economy or daily life, immediately prohibits industrial action for 30 days while the National Labor Relations Commission conducts mediation and arbitration.
The union said on Sunday it would not give in to pressure on arbitration and would not agree to a pay deal should the company offer a less favorable proposal.
After the collapse of negotiations last week, executives from Samsung’s chip division urged the union to refrain from striking, citing concerns raised by hard-won semiconductor customers such as Nvidia, according to media reports.
The executives said some customers had indicated they might temporarily stop accepting shipments during a strike because they could not guarantee product quality, according to reports, citing a participant at the meeting.
Samsung declined to comment on the matter.
Samsung Electronics’ shares were trading up 0.7% in morning trade, compared with benchmark KOSPI’s <.KS11> 2.5% fall.
(Reporting by Heekyong YangEditing by Ed Davies)
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