[Exclusive] Samsung Electronics DX Town Hall Meeting Chaired by President Roh Tae-moon Postponed After All

[Financial News] Samsung Electronics has tentatively postponed a town hall meeting for employees chaired by Roh Tae-moon, head of the Device eXperience (DX) Division and a company president. As internal dissatisfaction over the bonus gap with the Device Solutions (DS) Division grows, speculation is emerging that demands from a DX-centered union for better treatment, coupled with labor-management tensions, may also be putting pressure on management’s efforts to communicate.
According to industry sources on the 20th, Samsung Electronics’ DX Division notified employees that day that the ‘DX Connect’ event scheduled for the 22nd would be postponed. The schedule will be announced again once finalized, and no specific reason for the postponement or future date has been disclosed.
DX Connect is a town hall meeting that Roh Tae-moon, head of Samsung Electronics’ DX Division, has been organizing to share management issues with employees and communicate with them. The main topics of interest for the event were initially expected to include employees’ dissatisfaction over the performance and compensation gap between DS and DX, as well as the future direction of business operations.
Industry observers are focused on the possibility that the recent escalation of labor-management tensions centered on the DX Division may have affected the event’s postponement. In particular, management is facing even greater pressure as Samsung Electronics Labor Union Donghaeng (Donghaeng Union), a DX-centered union, steps up its collective action, including by demanding a direct meeting with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong. There are also concerns that, with even an opportunity for management and employees to exchange views directly postponed at a time when communication between labor and management is increasingly needed, resolving internal conflicts could become even more difficult.
At the heart of these tensions is the widening performance gap between DS and DX, Samsung Electronics’ two main divisions. Buoyed by growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI), DS continues to post strong results, while DX, which is responsible for smartphones and home appliances, is seeing its profitability deteriorate under the cost burden of rising memory prices. In particular, observers say the relative sense of deprivation among DX employees has grown since this year’s wage agreement introduced a special management performance bonus for DS funded by 10.5% of operating profit.
Conflict between the unions is also expected to intensify ahead of next year’s wage and collective bargaining negotiations. The Samsung Chapter of the Samsung Group Super-Enterprise Labor Union (Super-Enterprise Union), which is DS-centered, is confident it will be selected as the bargaining representative union, citing its membership size, while Donghaeng Union is calling for joint bargaining to reflect the interests of DX employees.
[email protected] Im Su-bin, Kim Hak-jae Reporter