"Who Do They Think They Are, Beggars?" Samsung Electronics DX Employees Furious as 9,000 Join Union Over 6 Million Won Bonus

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[Financial News] Samsung Electronics narrowly avoided an unprecedented general strike on the 21st after reaching a dramatic tentative labor agreement. But as the bonus system in the deal exposed a pay gap that ranges from tens to hundreds of times across divisions, labor tensions inside the company are boiling over.
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According to business circles on the 21st, Samsung Electronics management and labor reached a tentative agreement on the 2026 bonus plan the previous day.
The centerpiece of the deal is the creation of a new special management performance bonus, which will be operated for the next 10 years without a payment cap.
The two sides agreed to set aside 10.5% of business performance as the funding pool and divide it between the overall Device Solutions division and individual business units in a 4-to-6 ratio.
The problem is that this allocation structure creates bonus differences of up to several hundred times between departments.
For example, if one assumes an extreme case in which the Device Solutions division posts 300 trillion won in operating profit this year, employees in the Memory Business, which would benefit the most, could receive a staggering 567.12 million won each in bonuses.
Employees in the Common Organization, such as planning and procurement support teams, could receive about 445.45 million won, while even workers in the loss-making Samsung Foundry Division and System LSI Division could take home around 161.54 million won.
By contrast, bonuses for employees in the DX (Device eXperience) Division, which handles mobile devices and home appliances, are estimated at only around 6 million won.
As the gap in bonuses widened to hundreds of times, DX employees reacted with anger. On the company bulletin board and elsewhere, harsh criticism poured in, including remarks such as, "Give the 6 million won to the dogs," and "Do they think employees are beggars?"
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Their anger quickly turned into collective action.
The number of members in the Samsung Electronics Companion Union, which has a high share of DX division employees and had previously hovered around 2,260, surged by nearly 9,000 in a single day on the 21st, reaching 11,172 as of 1:30 p.m. that day.
The surge is being interpreted as a strong mobilization by employees trying to block ratification of the agreement.
A vote by union members on the tentative agreement will run from the 22nd to the 27th. If a majority votes in favor, the deal will be finalized.
Inside the company, many believe the agreement is likely to pass, since about 55,000 employees in the Memory Business and Common Organization stand to benefit.
One employee in a benefiting department said, "If it gets rejected, it would be like someone who has been starving finally getting a meal, only to overturn the table because they do not like the side dishes." The employee argued that approval is the only reasonable outcome.
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But signs of division are also emerging within the Device Solutions division.
Among employees in the System LSI and Samsung Foundry divisions, which are nicknamed "Leupang" in reference to a thief character and chronic loss-making units, complaints are growing. They are saying things like, "The union abandoned Leupang," and "The company has effectively agreed to give up on the loss-making divisions."
As the rift deepened beyond control, management also moved quickly to calm the situation.
Jun Young-hyun, head of the Device Solutions (DS) Division and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, appealed for unity on the company bulletin board that day, saying, "It is important to leave behind this time of conflict and move forward with everyone pulling together as one."
sms@fnnews.com Sung Min-seo Reporter