Samsung Electronics faces the largest protest in its history, with employees considering striking or disrupting AI chip supplies.

Thousands of Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.US) employees gathered in the factory district in the south of Seoul to protest against salary levels and plan a potential long-term strike that could disrupt AI chip production. The reports added that union organizers and police estimate that the protest drew as many as 40,000 people, making it the largest demonstration in Samsung's history. According to the reports, if the workers' demands are not met, they plan to strike starting on May 21st for a duration of 18 days. The workers' dissatisfaction stems primarily from what they claim is a huge bonus gap with their competitor, SK Hynix. One Samsung employee, Song Yong-gi, who works in the logistics of the assembly line in the chip department, stated, "In reality, many employees are leaving for SK Hynix. Ultimately, over 90% of employees work for the salary, and this wage gap has widened enough to prompt these changes." Other Samsung employees also mentioned that many colleagues have already left for SK Hynix. The reports added that Samsung's union argued that a chip department employee with a base salary of 76 million Korean won (approximately $51,280 USD) only received a bonus of 38 million Korean won for the year 2025, which is one third of what SK Hynix employees in equivalent positions receive. Samsung expressed its commitment to continue efforts to reach a quick agreement in salary negotiations. An anonymous Samsung official pointed out that even a "single strike" leading to production disruptions could damage customer trust and may take years to recover. It was reported that in September 2025, SK Hynix accepted the union's demands for salary reform and large bonuses, exacerbating Samsung employees' frustration over the wage gap and leading to a significant increase in union membership. Currently, Samsung's union membership has exceeded 90,000 people, accounting for over 70% of its total Korean workforce. One of the core issues is the union's demand to eliminate the bonus cap (currently set at 50% of base salary), which the management has rejected. Samsung union officials stated that SK Hynix has agreed to remove the bonus cap. Additionally, the reports mentioned that the Samsung union also demanded a 7% increase in base salary, allocating 15% of annual profits as bonuses, and increasing transparency in bonus calculation methods. However, the management's proposal is to allocate 10% of annual profits for performance-based wages and provide additional funds to ensure that department employees' income this year exceeds that of their competitors. SK Hynix and fellow Korean company Samsung are among the world's largest memory chip manufacturers. SK Hynix is a major supplier of NVIDIA Corporation's High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips. Samsung competes with SK Hynix and American company Micron Technology, Inc. in this field.