"How can employees earning hundreds of millions of won go on a 40 trillion won strike?" Samsung Electronics shareholders worry over someone else’s labor dispute [World of Retail Investors]

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[Financial News] Baek Seong-hwan, 38, a pseudonym, now checks the news carefully every morning on his way to work. He did not used to follow it this closely, but things changed after he bought Samsung Electronics shares with a time deposit that matured earlier this year. He has become especially alert to semiconductor-related news, and he now pays even closer attention to Samsung Electronics updates.
In the past, he would have brushed past news about Samsung Electronics' labor union. Baek works at a company without a union, one that is smaller than a small or medium-sized business. As a result, labor-management disputes and bonus negotiations always felt like someone else’s problem. At times, he criticized the union, saying it was acting that way because it had grown complacent. At other times, he criticized the company for being stingy with employees despite making so much money. Until then, it was all from a third-party perspective.'an all-seeing third-party perspective'It was.
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But on the 13th, Baek’s heart sank the moment he saw news that post-mediation talks had collapsed at Samsung Electronics' labor union. He was suddenly afraid of how the strike might affect the stock price. That day, Samsung Electronics' cross-company labor union announced that final post-mediation efforts had failed, effectively making an 18-day general strike from the 21st to June 7 a done deal. The union is demanding that the performance bonus formula be changed so that it equals 15% to 20% of operating profit, and that the cap be abolished. Management, meanwhile, has held firm in saying it cannot accept institutionalizing the removal of the bonus cap.
Baek read the report three times. Before he became a shareholder, it would have been the kind of article he skimmed and moved on from. Butthe moment he bought the stock, his view of the world changed.Baek said,"After I bought Samsung Electronics, every piece of Samsung Electronics news started to feel like it was about me."He added that when he sees upbeat news about semiconductor exports, he feels a little proud for no reason, and when a rival company posts weak earnings, he feels a quiet sense of relief. And news of a union strike makes him anxious.
That is why small shareholders of Samsung Electronics like Baek have collectively pushed back against the union strike this time. On the day of the announcement, a group of Samsung Electronics small shareholders gathered in front of Suwon District Court, calling on the court to grant an injunction and issuing a statement condemning the union.
\r\n\r\nIn a recent report, global investment bank JPMorgan Chase analyzed that the strike could cut Samsung Electronics' annual operating profit by more than 40 trillion won.Given Samsung Electronics' role in the global memory supply chain, the impact may not be limited to South Korea. If global companies accelerate efforts to diversify supply chains, rival countries could also benefit. That is why some observers say the government may invoke emergency mediation powers.
Baek spent the day reading and rereading articles about Samsung Electronics. On the 13th, Samsung Electronics' stock chart opened lower before turning positive, but the prospect of a general strike still left him uneasy. As he followed the union news, comments from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), JPMorgan Chase's analysis, the government's response, and reactions from shareholder communities, Baek reflected on what might happen next. "Our own company does not even have a union, but I never imagined I would end up worrying this much about whether another company’s union would go on strike," he said, revealing his mixed feelings.
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bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter