Samsung Electronics' Device eXperience (DX) Union Calls for Direct Talks at Lee Jae-yong's Home; Controversy Over 'Narrative Shift, Belated Protest'

[Financial News] Donghaeng Union, a Samsung Electronics labor union centered on the Device eXperience (DX) division responsible for finished products such as home appliances, TVs and smartphones, held a rally in front of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong's home on the 18th, calling for direct talks with him over wage negotiations and performance bonuses.
About 50 Donghaeng Union members held an inaugural ceremony in front of Lee's home in Yongsan District, Seoul, that day and began an indefinite relay sit-in protest. However, the rally, held amid conflict between unions, has also drawn criticism that it was merely intended to shift the narrative.
After holding rallies in Suwon and Seocho District and publicizing their demands through advertisements in New York's Times Square, Donghaeng Union claimed, "The company hasn't even set up a proper dialogue table with us yet."
Donghaeng Union called for "a fundamental framework for joint bargaining so that DX is no longer relegated to the audience in wage negotiations," emphasizing, "Donghaeng did not come to Hannam to fight. We came to engage in dialogue."
Donghaeng Union plans to demand a joint bargaining structure through a wage and collective bargaining agreement task force (TF) after completing the election for its next chair on the 28th. It also plans to bring the DX division's demands to the bargaining table.
Criticism has emerged that the rally by Samsung Electronics' DX division in front of Lee's home was a protest stemming from conflict between unions and amounted to an attempt to shift the narrative, a defensive protest or a belated protest.
The Samsung chapter of the Samsung Group's supra-enterprise union, which is centered on the DS division, previously declared that it would bargain separately from the DX division starting with the 2027 wage negotiations.
Donghaeng Union, which has demanded to participate in wage negotiations alongside Samsung Electronics' largest union representing the semiconductor-focused Device Solutions (DS) division, appealed to Lee, saying, "Please set up a dialogue table where you and employees in the field can speak directly."
There have been repeated observations that the conflict of interests and bargaining rights between the DS-centered supra-enterprise union and the DX-centered Donghaeng Union led to this rally.
At a press conference at the site that day, Donghaeng Union Welfare Bureau Chief Lee Yong-hoon said, "When we formed a joint bargaining delegation with the supra-enterprise union, we had already clearly agreed in the MOU not to disparage the other union or use insulting expressions. However, during the bargaining process, we saw a lot of content criticizing our union in this way. Because the chair of the supra-enterprise union continued to ignore DX's views, leaving the joint bargaining delegation was an unavoidable choice for us."
Lee added, "Rather than leaving of our own accord, it was an unavoidable choice," while explaining, "We are not actually considering a break with the DS union. We will continue conveying our views and work to coordinate so that our opinions can be accepted."
The appropriateness of Donghaeng Union's rally in front of Lee's home has continued to spark controversy. Legal experts have also argued that, from a legal and institutional perspective, the rally was an extra-legal action that did not even meet the requirements for a lawful assembly.
Samsung Electronics' labor and management had previously finalized the 2026 wage negotiations through a joint bargaining delegation involving multiple unions, and Donghaeng Union had participated in that delegation.
Some have argued that Donghaeng Union's decision to overturn this labor-management agreement and launch an off-site labor action directly violated the principle of autonomy in collective agreements and the principle of good faith.
A legal industry source described the rally as "an unauthorized show of force outside the workplace that receives no protection whatsoever under labor law," adding, "It is nothing more than a belated protest without justification that only aggravates confusion inside and outside the company."
[email protected] Kim Hak-jae and Lim Su-bin Reporter