President Lee Urges Samsung Labor Deal as 47,000 Workers Threaten 18-Day Strike

President Lee Jae-myung publicly called on Samsung Electronics and its rapidly expanding union to reach a negotiated settlement, warning of limits to labor action. Approximately 47,000–48,000 Samsung workers — representing nearly half the company's South Korean workforce — threatened an 18-day general strike set to begin May 21. The union demanded removal of the 50% annual salary cap on bonuses and a profit-linked scheme equivalent to 15% of operating profit, citing rival chipmaker SK Hynix's more generous scheme. The government warned a prolonged strike could shave 0.5 percentage points from Korea's GDP growth and cost Samsung roughly 18 trillion won.