"It is right to shut the company down": Samsung Electronics union leadership makes 'extreme remarks'

[Financial News] Lee Song-i, vice chairman of the Samsung Group Enterprise-Level Labor Union, which is leading the general strike at Samsung Electronics, reportedly made extreme remarks on the 17th, one day before government-mediated post-strike adjustment talks, saying, "It is right to shut the company down. We are prepared for a split." Earlier, Choi Seung-ho, chairman of the same union, said he would "not back down" if the government invoked emergency mediation powers. As the government said it was considering emergency mediation powers that could effectively neutralize the general strike, analysts say the union is continuing its hard-line rhetoric to prevent unrest within its ranks. With the exodus of non-semiconductor members from the union already widening, observers say the drive behind the struggle is weakening amid public criticism over the fight for performance bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won, as well as skeptical views within the labor movement.
According to industry sources on the 17th, Lee Song-i, vice chairman of the Samsung Group Industry-Across Labor Union, Samsung Chapter, urged members to join the strike in the union's Telegram chat room and said, "We take responsibility for having brought this this far," adding, "If a split is what it takes, then so be it. Samsung Electronics should just be shut down." She went on to say, "I am not doing this for money," and added, "I am sending this with the resolve that it could lead to a split. If we are broken this time, there will be no Samsung Electronics left." Lee also reportedly used phrases such as, "Don't talk to me about family," and, "If they send me to prison, I'll read some books and work out a bit before I come back." The remarks spread outside the union through labor and office-worker community websites.

The union leadership's remarks about a split are drawing criticism for deepening the rift between Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions Division and its home appliance and mobile divisions. As this year's wage negotiations have effectively centered on bonus talks for the Device Solutions Division, resentment and dissatisfaction among employees in the DX Division have grown. Members of the DX Division have already been leaving the enterprise-level union and withdrawing from the joint struggle headquarters led by the DX-focused union. So far, about 4,000 DX Division members are said to have applied to leave the enterprise-level union, roughly half of the division's total membership of about 8,500 to 9,000.
Meanwhile, Choi said in response to speculation that the government could move to emergency mediation if talks fail that he would "not be intimidated by pressure that the damage will be severe." He added that the company presented a proposal at the meeting that was even more scaled back than the draft the National Labor Relations Commission had suggested during the first post-strike mediation session, and said, "I told them that if they take the same stance in tomorrow's post-strike mediation on the 18th, we will not reach an agreement."
According to Choi, the company's "scaled-back proposal" would keep the cap on the OPI bonus pool at 50% of annual salary, while allowing employees to choose between 20% of EVA or 10% of operating income. It also proposed that if operating income in the Device Solutions Division exceeds 20 trillion won, the bonus pool, separate from OPI, should be set at 9% to 10% of operating income and divided 60% for the company as a whole and 40% by business division.
The union, however, is demanding that 15% of operating income be institutionalized as performance pay without any cap. It is also calling for the bonus pool to be split 70% for the Device Solutions Division as a whole and 30% by business division.
Samsung Electronics management and labor will hold the second post-strike mediation session at the National Labor Relations Commission in Sejong Special Self-Governing City at 10 a.m. on the 18th. It is expected to be the last realistic chance for dialogue before the strike.
ehcho@fnnews.com Jo Eun-hyo Reporter