SEOUL, South Korea — A potential general strike at Samsung Electronics could reduce South Korea’s economic growth by 0.5 percentage point this year, according to an estimate by the Bank of Korea.
The central bank recently prepared a closed-door report on the issue and submitted it to the finance ministry, Yonhap reported, citing officials.
The report estimated possible losses from the strike at about 30 trillion won, or roughly $20 billion. It also said production could take up to three weeks to recover if Samsung’s memory chip lines were fully halted.
The Bank of Korea previously projected that South Korea’s economy would grow 2% in 2026. The country’s economy expanded 1.7% in the first quarter, its fastest growth in more than five years, helped by strong semiconductor exports.
The report comes as unionized Samsung workers plan an 18-day large-scale strike starting Thursday, with more than 50,000 members expected to participate. The union is demanding higher bonuses tied to the company’s operating profit.
Samsung and its largest labor union resumed government-led wage mediation Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to avoid a strike at the world’s largest memory chipmaker.
The two-day talks resumed after an earlier round of mediation ended without an agreement. The two sides remain divided over performance-based bonuses, particularly those tied to earnings from Samsung’s artificial intelligence-related semiconductor business during a global memory chip boom.
Park Soo-keun, chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission, said the two sides had narrowed some differences during the previous day’s negotiations.
“Ultimately, we will see whether the two parties can reach a settlement, and if not, we will issue a mediation proposal,” Park told reporters before entering the meeting. “There is still a possibility of a deal, so we will wait and see.”
Samsung has proposed keeping its current excess profit incentive system while allowing the bonus pool to be calculated based on 10% of operating profit. The company also proposed a special compensation system, saying it would create a more flexible incentive structure.
The union is seeking fixed performance bonuses equal to 15% of the semiconductor division’s operating profit, along with the removal of payout caps. (Source: IANS)
