Minority union at Samsung Electronics to challenge pay deal in court


A Samsung Electronics semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, May 21, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

SEOUL, May 29 (Reuters) - A ⁠minority labour union at Samsung Electronics representing its ⁠consumer electronics workers will ask a South Korean ‌court to suspend the implementation of a pay deal that primarily benefits employees in the chip division, a lawyer said.

Two other unions ​at the world's largest memory chip and ⁠TV maker, including its ⁠biggest union, voted to approve a pay deal this ⁠week that ‌provides huge bonuses for workers in Samsung's memory chip division, which has seen profits soar ⁠amid the AI boom.

The Samsung Electronics Co ​Union (SECU), which has ‌about 13,000 members, mostly from the company's smartphone, TV ⁠and home ​appliances divisions, had initially filed an injunction to suspend the vote.

The approval of the 11th-hour government-mediated agreement averted a ⁠planned 18-day strike, but meant some employees ​outside the chip division did not fare as well.

Now that the vote has passed, SECU will ask the court ⁠to suspend the implementation of the pay deal, a lawyer for the union said in a court hearing on Friday.

Legal counsel for SECU said they would submit documents ​next week revising the injunction request, ⁠and expect a court to make a ruling within a ​month.

A spokesperson for Samsung Electronics' ‌biggest union declined to comment.

The company ​was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Writing by Joyce LeeEditing by Ed Davies)

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