Negotiations have broken down again, and Samsung Electronics will proceed with the planned strike starting tomorrow.

May 20 – South Korea’s Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday that wage negotiation talks have once again collapsed, meaning the planned strike will go ahead as scheduled starting tomorrow, Thursday. Per Yonhap News Agency and a union statement, the Samsung Electronics South Korea union has confirmed the strike will take place on Thursday as planned after official mediation discussions between the union and management came to an end. The union said negotiations broke down because of management’s delay in making a decision, noting in a statement that it had accepted the mediator’s proposal – which management did not respond to promptly. Both the union and management have separately acknowledged that talks are over. Even as the strike unfolds, both sides say they will continue efforts to resolve the issues through negotiations. Analyst Eamonn Sheridan pointed out that the market will closely watch which Samsung factories and production lines are affected and how long the strike is expected to last. The union has stated it will keep seeking an agreement even during the strike, indicating the dispute could be resolved relatively quickly. However, the fact that mediation fell apart after the union accepted the mediator’s proposal has shifted the market’s full focus firmly onto management.