Complaints are spreading among Samsung Electronics union members, with some non-semiconductor division members withdrawing from the union due to dissatisfaction that the union's demands for performance bonuses, ahead of a general strike, only considered members from the semiconductor division.

Recently, the union's decision to pay up to 3 million won in activity expenses to staff during the strike period, coupled with the decision to raise union dues during disputes, has brought simmering discontent to the surface.

Union flags are paraded at the Samsung Electronics Labor Union Joint Struggle Headquarters' "Let's Make it Transparent, Let's Realize the Abolition of Caps - April 23rd Struggle Rally" held in front of the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek Campus in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on the 23rd. [Yonhap News]

According to industry sources, the number of withdrawal requests on the homepage of the overarching union's Samsung Electronics branch has recently surged.

The number of withdrawal requests, which used to be less than 100 per day, reportedly exceeded 500 on April 28th and surpassed 1,000 on the 29th.

This movement, along with a relay of withdrawal certifications on internal bulletin boards and workplace communities, is increasingly spreading.

Withdrawing members express their dissatisfaction, stating that the overarching union prioritizes the interests of members in the Device Solutions (DS) division, which handles the semiconductor business, while ignoring the demands of members from other divisions.

The overarching union, the only majority union at Samsung Electronics, is leading this strike primarily with employees from the DS division, who constitute about 80% of the union members.

However, in preparation for the upcoming strike, they are demanding an uncapped performance bonus of 15% of operating profit exclusively for the DS division, while presenting no demands for the Device Experience (DX) division, which has relatively poor performance.

Overarching Union Press Conference in front of Samsung Electronics Seocho Building [Yonhap News]

The DX division, responsible for the finished product (set) business, saw its operating profit plummet by 36% year-on-year in the first quarter due to the impact of semiconductor price increases in the same Samsung Electronics DS division, and is now facing a projection of an annual deficit.

In this situation, if the union's demands are met, employees of Samsung Electronics' DS division could receive performance bonuses close to 600 million won per person this year, while employees of the DX division would not only receive no bonuses but would also have to worry about the "blade of restructuring" due to high-intensity business reorganization.

Samsung Electronics' refusal to accept the union's demand for the abolition of performance bonus caps is also to prevent such internal discord.

However, the union is demanding the same treatment for Foundry and System LSI, which are loss-making businesses within the DS division, further escalating the backlash from the DX division.

Within the DX division, there is an analysis that the union is seeking solidarity only within the DS division, excluding the relatively smaller DX division, in order to maintain its majority status and push forward with the strike.

Samsung Electronics Records Best First Quarter Operating Profit [Yonhap News]

Amidst this, the overarching union's recent recruitment of staff by offering 3 million won in allowances for those who work for more than 15 days during the strike has also fueled the conflict.

Upon hearing this news, union members once again questioned the union's decision in January to significantly increase union dues from 10,000 won to 50,000 won, citing the establishment of a fund to guarantee security during disputes.

Their reaction was, "Even though they don't look out for DX, do we have to raise our union dues to cover the leadership's legal fees and even go so far as to be generous to the staff?"

With such intense inter-union conflict, it is inevitable that the union's representativeness and the justification for the strike will weaken.

However, given that DX employees constitute a minority of about 20% among the total 74,000 members of the overarching union, there is a growing likelihood that the union will proceed with the strike.

One Samsung Electronics employee stated, "The inter-union conflict is so severe that conversations are cut off depending on whether one is a union member within the semiconductor division," adding, "We can only hope that the situation is resolved quickly and the organization returns to normalcy as one."