Industry minister warns of emergency arbitration if Samsung unions launch strike

Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said Thursday that the government may have to invoke emergency arbitration if labor unions at Samsung Electronics go ahead with a planned strike next week. The remarks came after government-led mediation talks ended without an agreement Wednesday, as labor and management remained widely divided over performance-based bonuses tied to the company's earnings from the artificial intelligence (AI)-related semiconductor business. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kim expressed concern over the unions' plan to launch a full-scale strike starting next Thursday and urged both sides to resume dialogue as soon as possible. "Considering the seriousness of the matter and the unimaginable ripple effects, a strike must be prevented under any circumstances," Kim said. "As industry minister, I believe emergency arbitration would be unavoidable if a strike occurs." Under labor law, the labor ministry can invoke an emergency adjustment measure that suspends strike action for up to 30 days if it is deemed likely to seriously harm the national economy or disrupt the daily liveWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times