AmCham Chairman and CEO James Kim delivers opening remarks at the 2026 Doing Business in Korea seminar at a Seoul hotel on April 21. (Yonhap)
A looming strike at Samsung Electronics could send shock waves through global supply chains and dent South Korea’s investment appeal, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Monday.
The concern comes as labor tensions at the chipmaker intensify ahead of a possible 18-day walkout set for May 21, with workers demanding the removal of caps on performance bonuses and a 15 percent share of operating profit as incentive pay.
The concern reflects the chip giant’s outsized role amid the global artificial intelligence boom, where it acts as a dominant supplier across global technology supply chains. Any prolonged disruption could squeeze global memory supply, potentially exacerbating bottlenecks, price swings and broader supply chain uncertainty, according to the chamber.
“Many AmCham member companies across industries such as AI, cloud infrastructure, automotive, manufacturing, industrial technology and energy remain highly dependent on stable semiconductor supply chains based in Korea,” the chamber said in a statement.
“In today’s interconnected global economy, disruptions in strategically important industries can create ripple effects extending well beyond a single company or market.”
The chamber added that prolonged instability could prompt multinational firms to diversify away from Korea, benefiting competing regional manufacturing hubs.
It also flagged broader risks to Korea’s investment climate, pointing to its own survey showing the country slipping to third place among preferred Asian regional headquarters destinations for multinationals, behind Singapore and Hong Kong, with labor policy, regulatory predictability and global standards alignment cited as key factors.
“Maintaining a stable and predictable business environment aligned with global standards is essential to strengthening Korea’s position as a leading regional headquarters and investment hub in the Asia-Pacific region,” said AmCham Chairman and CEO James Kim.
“Continued efforts to reinforce supply chain reliability, operational stability, and business predictability will be important to sustaining Korea’s long-term global competitiveness,” he added.
Samsung Electronics management and labor officials resumed two days of government-mediated negotiations Monday in what many are calling a last-ditch effort to avert a strike that could inflict losses exceeding 30 trillion won ($20.4 billion), according to industry estimates.
minmin@heraldcorp.com