Samsung Electronics is experiencing a fresh wave of fragmentation within its labor landscape. In a span of just one week, a second new union has emerged, highlighting growing internal frictions among existing labor groups as the company gears up for crucial wage and collective bargaining negotiations.

According to industry insiders, an establishment filing for the "Samsung Electronics Gwangju Labor Union"—making it the company's seventh labor organization—was submitted to the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Administration.

Heading the new union is Lee Won-il, a former Gwangju branch leader of the company's existing supra-corporate union. Lee, who hails from the Device Experience (DX) division, was previously expelled from the supra-corporate union during a restructuring process that shifted its primary focus toward the Device Solutions (DS) semiconductor division. The newly formed seventh union intends to anchor its operations in the Gwangju workplace and expand in tandem with future semiconductor cluster developments in the Honam region.

This latest move follows a similar filing on December 4th for the "Samsung Electronics Union Shop Labor Union" (the sixth union), which was spearheaded by former officials from the Donghaeng Union and the supra-corporate union.

The rapid succession of new labor formations has drawn criticism from existing groups. The Donghaeng Union released a statement expressing deep concern, arguing that the continuous creation of splinter unions reflects internal discord and divisions rather than a genuine pursuit of workers' rights. They questioned whether proliferating unions truly benefit the company's 120,000 employees.

As the annual wage and collective bargaining season approaches, Samsung Electronics unions face the legal requirement of a bargaining channel unification procedure to determine a single representative body for talks with management. If no single union secures a majority of participating members, a joint delegation must be formed.

Samsung currently hosts several active labor organizations, including the dominant supra-corporate union (the fifth union, boasting over 53,000 members), the Donghaeng Union, the National Samsung Electronics Union, the Office Workers Union, and the Gumi Network Union.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]