Voting on Samsung Electronics' tentative agreement surpasses 80% ... shareholder backlash and labor union conflict loom as variables

The approval vote on the tentative 2026 wage and collective bargaining agreement reached by management and labor at SEC came close to 85% just three days after it began. However, opposition is continuing, especially among shareholders and members of the Device eXperience Division (DX Division), raising questions over whether the deal will ultimately pass and what fallout may follow.
■ The supra-enterprise union, heavily weighted toward the DS Division, sees turnout rise quickly
According to the Samsung Electronics Branch of the National Samsung Group Supra-Enterprise Labor Union on the 24th, 48,738 of 57,290 eligible voters had cast ballots in the union's vote as of 5 p.m., for a turnout of 85.1%. At the same time, the National Samsung Electronics Union, the second-largest union, recorded 6,655 participants out of 8,187 eligible voters, for a turnout of 81.3%. Combined turnout for the two unions stood at 84.6%. Voting began at 2:12 p.m. on the 22nd and will continue until 10 a.m. on the 27th.
Interest in the vote was high from the first day. As of 5:30 p.m. on the 22nd, the day voting opened, turnout had reached 57.4%. It rose to 74.27% by 10:40 a.m. the next day and climbed further to 80.14% by 5:13 p.m.
The Samsung Electronics labor union, which is made up mainly of DX Division members, withdrew from the joint bargaining team during negotiations and was therefore not given voting rights in this round.
The largest union in this vote is the supra-enterprise union, and about 80% of its members work in the Device Solutions Division (DS Division), which handles the semiconductor business. By contrast, DX Division members were reported to number only 7,000 to 8,000, or about 10% of the union's total membership of 70,850, as of 2 p.m. on the 21st, when the voter list was finalized.
The industry expects the tentative agreement to pass, given that many members of the supra-enterprise union are in the DS Division and may receive performance bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won. The agreement will be approved if more than half of eligible voters participate and a majority of those who vote support it.
■ "There was not enough review" — shareholder and internal backlash
Still, a key variable is the continuing challenge to the procedural legitimacy of the vote, led by the National Samsung Electronics Union and the Samsung Electronics labor union, excluding the supra-enterprise union. The National Samsung Electronics Union issued a statement on the day, saying, "The more complex the interests involved across business units, the more important open explanation and verification become." It added, "However, voting began just two days after the post-negotiation adjustment plan was disclosed, and there are concerns and regrets on the ground that there was not enough time for review and questions." Questions over the legitimacy of the vote are also growing internally after the Samsung Electronics labor union, which has a high proportion of DX members, was excluded from the process.
Moves by shareholders arguing that the agreement is invalid are also gaining momentum. The retail shareholder platform Act said the company had accepted its request to inspect and copy the shareholder registry filed against SEC the previous day. The request was pursued through Act by the Korea Shareholder Action Headquarters, a shareholder group for Samsung Electronics. The headquarters plans to rally shareholders and launch a joint response once it secures the registry. Act argued, "If the union holds a general vote to ratify the agreement, then the company should also ask the real owners of the company, the shareholders, through a general meeting of shareholders. That is consistent with the spirit of the Commercial Act and with shareholders' sense of justice." It added, "A one-time performance bonus paid by management may fall within the scope of business judgment, but a structural change that continuously distributes a fixed percentage of operating profit amounts to capital movement that infringes on shareholders' dividend resources."
one1@fnnews.com Jeong Won-il Reporter