The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) suspended a 18-day strike targeting the world’s largest memory chip producer, following a draft deal with the company late last night.
The proposal grants employees a 6.2% average wage increase and improved housing and child support benefits. It also addresses long-standing bonus disparities between Samsung and its rivals, allocating 10.5% of profits to workers and promising new transparency to payout rules.
The dispute began in April after Samsung recorded a 750% surge in its memory‑chip profits amid global data‑center boom. The looming strike has rattled South Korea’s economic establishment as Samsung accounts for nearly a quarter of the nation’s exports. In May, the government threatened to issue a rare emergency arbitration order—a heavy-handed measure to freeze all strike actions for 30 days—effectively treating the semiconductor industry as “critical infrastructure” alongside hospitals and aviation.
On May 18, a district court partially granted Samsung’s strike suppression request, banning the union from disrupting production. The NSEU pushed back against the legal restrictions but suspended the walkout to give its members time to vote on the draft until May 28.
