Economy Talk

Samsung wage deal: what the bonus fight was actually about (Korean view)

Some context from Korea since the international articles keep it short. The fight was about the bonus structure, not base pay. The union of about 48,000 workers wanted three things: remove the cap of 50% of annual salary on bonuses, set aside 15% of operating profit for bonuses, and make it permanent. Samsung called it "unacceptable" and then a deal came late on 20 May anyway.

Samsung is almost a quarter of Korean exports, so an 18-day strike was a national-level risk. That's why Kospi went up more than 6% on the deal.

I'm skeptical it's fully settled though. It's a tentative agreement. Members still have to accept it, and the bonus issue will come back next year when chip profits are this high.