![\"Labor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AEN20260513008700315_05_i_P4.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) — Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon urged continued dialogue between Samsung Electronics Co. and its labor union Wednesday after government-led wage negotiation efforts fell through while withholding any direct response to whether the government may exercise an emergency measure against a looming strike.<\/p>\n
The two sides failed to reach an agreement early Wednesday after two days of government-led mediation talks that had been viewed as a last-ditch effort to avert the strike scheduled for May 21.<\/p>\n
“Dialogue is desperately needed. It has to be made even if it means staying up all night,” Kim said in a YouTube interview when asked about the possibility of taking the emergency measure.<\/p>\n
Under labor law, the labor minister has the right to exercise an “emergency adjustment” measure that can suspend a strike for up to 30 days if it is deemed likely to endanger the daily lives of citizens or hurt the national economy.<\/p>\n
“While it is the union’s decision whether to strike or not, the government will make utmost efforts to arrange talks to avert a strike,” he said.<\/p>\n
The union and management have remained sharply divided over performance-based bonuses tied to the company’s earnings amid an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven boom that left the leading chipmaker with record-high earnings in the first quarter.<\/p>\n
The union has demanded performance bonuses equivalent to 15 percent of operating profit, along with the removal of the payout cap and the formal institutionalization of the bonus system.<\/p>\n
The management, meanwhile, proposed allocating 10 percent of operating profit to bonuses and offering a one-time special compensation package that it said exceeds industry standards.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon speaks at a ministry event in central Seoul on May 6, 2026. (Yonhap)<\/p>\n
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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