Samsung Biologics has taken the initiative to propose post-adjustment proceedings to bring an end to wage and collective bargaining negotiations that have stretched beyond five months. The company is maintaining the proposal it submitted on March 23 as its current final offer, while indicating that it could present an improved package if a settlement appears achievable during the post-adjustment process. With competitor Celltrion’s sweeping compensation improvements emerging as a new variable, attention is focused on what revised terms Samsung Biologics\u2014which has consistently emphasized “securing wage competitiveness versus competitors”\u2014might put forward.<\/p>\n
The Samsung Biologics Sangsaeng Union announced on the 14th that during the 25th round of collective bargaining held on the 11th, management actively voiced support for post-adjustment proceedings, and the union agreed to accept the approach. A request signed by representatives of both sides is set to be submitted to the Incheon Regional Labor Relations Commission.<\/p>\n
Post-adjustment is a procedure in which labor and management seek common ground with renewed assistance from the labor relations commission even after an initial adjustment has already broken down. Earlier in May, tripartite labor-management-government talks were held under the auspices of the Central Regional Employment and Labor Office, but the parties failed to find common ground. A company official estimated that after the post-adjustment application is filed, selecting commissioners and finalizing the schedule will take one to two weeks, with the actual adjustment process requiring approximately one to two months. Autonomous bargaining will continue separately throughout this period.<\/p>\n
Management Maintains ‘Final Offer’ While Leaving Room for Improvement<\/p>\n
According to minutes of the 25th bargaining session obtained by Komedi.com, the post-adjustment process came about after management proactively proposed it. When the union asked what had changed since the May tripartite negotiations, the company responded that it now feels “a greater sense of urgency than at that time.” In previous years, wage negotiations were typically wrapped up by around April, but this year’s prolonged talks appear to have driven the assessment that autonomous bargaining alone would struggle to bridge the gap.<\/p>\n
Management maintained that the proposal submitted on March 23 remains its current final offer, while not ruling out the possibility of an upward revision. In the minutes, the company stated, “It is true that the existing proposal is currently our final offer,” but added, “We have never said we have no intention of presenting a higher offer.” However, the company explained that any additional proposal would require further decision-making by top executives, premised on core sticking points being narrowed and a settlement being achievable under those conditions.<\/p>\n
The company further explained that during the post-adjustment phase, if a third party such as the labor relations commission hears both sides and proposes a level at which a settlement is feasible, a company proposal matching that level could emerge. Management stated that any proposal made at that stage would be premised on reaching a deal. At the same time, the company conveyed that it does not intend to present revised offers by incrementally raising the existing proposal at each bargaining session.<\/p>\n
Park Jae-sung, chairman of the Sangsaeng Union, said, “In May, management did not raise the need for a formal application, and the union also felt no need given the company’s lack of initiative. This time, the company actively expressed that it ‘would like to file the application as early as today.’ We judged that the company is moving because it has the will to wrap this up.”<\/p>\n
Celltrion’s Compensation Hike Becomes New Variable in Wage Talks<\/p>\n
Ahead of this post-adjustment process, Celltrion’s sweeping compensation improvements have emerged as a significant external variable. In July, Celltrion implemented a wage increase that uniformly raised all employees’ annual salary increase rates by 5 percentage points, retroactively applied from January of this year. Starting in September, fixed incentives will be raised by 2 million won (approximately $1,411) annually, and a new individual pension plan will be introduced in October.<\/p>\n
The union contends that following Celltrion’s wage increase, the gap between the two companies on a fixed-pay basis has widened to roughly 15%. Chairman Park said, “With Celltrion’s wage increase, fixed pay across all job grades is now about 15% higher than ours. For example, fixed pay for assistant manager level is in the mid-60 million won range (approximately $42,340) at our company, while at Celltrion it’s in the low 70 million won range (approximately $49,397).” These figures are reportedly based on the union’s internal calculations and information exchanges with the Celltrion union.<\/p>\n
Samsung Biologics has long positioned “securing wage competitiveness versus competitors” as its wage policy principle. In the 25th bargaining session, management reaffirmed that its wage policy remains unchanged, while stating that comparisons should encompass not only base salary but also starting pay, total compensation, incentive bonuses, and benefits. Management also indicated that it continues to monitor wage and incentive changes at Celltrion.<\/p>\n
However, based on 2025 annual reports, Samsung Biologics’ average salary per employee was 7 million won (approximately $4,940) higher than Celltrion’s\u2014114 million won (approximately $80,446) versus 107 million won (approximately $75,506). Chairman Park noted, “Samsung Biologics is the industry leader in revenue and operating profit, yet having a noticeably lower wage level than a competitor is not typical.”<\/p>\n
Gap Between Labor and Management Positions Persists<\/p>\n
The terms proposed by labor and management to date show a significant gap. The union is demanding: \u25b3 a 6.5% base salary increase, \u25b3 a flat increase of 3 million won (approximately $2,117), and \u25b3 a company-wide average merit increase rate of 3%. This represents a downward adjustment from its original demands of a 14.3% base salary increase and a 3.5 million won (approximately $2,470) flat increase. In contrast, management has proposed: \u25b3 a 6.2% wage increase rate, \u25b3 a lump-sum payment of approximately 6 million won (approximately $4,234), and \u25b3 an Excess Profit Incentive (OPI) funded by 10% of operating profit.<\/p>\n
The comparison of labor and management demands is as follows:<\/p>\n
CategoryUnion DemandManagement ProposalBase salary increase rate6.5%6.2%Flat increase3 million wonLump sum of approximately 6 million wonPerformance payCompany-wide average merit increase of 3%OPI funded by 10% of operating profit<\/p>\n
Note: The union’s demand has been downwardly adjusted from its original proposal (14.3% base salary increase, 3.5 million won flat increase).<\/p>\n
Chairman Park indicated that in light of Celltrion’s wage increase, the union may need to raise its wage increase demand above the current 6.5%. However, it has not been confirmed whether Celltrion’s compensation improvements directly prompted Samsung Biologics’ post-adjustment proposal.<\/p>\n
Going forward, the key point to watch is whether specific wage and incentive terms are newly proposed in autonomous bargaining and the post-adjustment process. It remains to be seen whether management’s changed posture translates into an actual improved wage proposal, and what level of adjustment the labor relations commission will recommend. A Samsung Biologics official stated, “Autonomous bargaining will continue separately from the post-adjustment process, and the company intends to engage in negotiations in good faith going forward.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Samsung Biologics has taken the initiative to propose post-adjustment proceedings to bring an end to wage and collective…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119182,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[2578,61659,61658,806,127,505,61657],"class_list":["post-119181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-samsung-biologics","tag-celltrion","tag-excess-profit-incentive-opi","tag-incheon-regional-labor-relations-commission","tag-park-jae-sung","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-biologics","tag-samsung-biologics-sangsaeng-union"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}