SUWON, South Korea — Despite a court ruling that largely granted Samsung Electronics’ request for an injunction against illegal labor strikes, the company’s primary labor union announced on Monday that it will proceed with its scheduled general strike on May 21.
The Samsung Electronics Branch of the National United Labor Union issued an official statement following the ruling, stating, "We respect the court's decision and will carry out our planned industrial action on May 21 accordingly."
Earlier in the day, the Suwon District Court’s 31st Civil Division, led by Presiding Judge Shin Woo-jung, ruled in favor of management’s injunction. The court ordered that the union "has an obligation to maintain the same level of personnel, operating hours, and operational scale as regular weekdays, weekends, or holidays prior to the dispute."
The judiciary emphasized that the union must strictly comply with its duty to operate minimum essential personnel required for maintaining safety protection facilities and performing core operations. Consequently, the upcoming strike on Thursday is highly likely to be restricted to a scope that minimizes disruptions to semiconductor production lines.
However, the court dismissed Samsung management’s request to legally bar union members from occupying key business facilities or blocking employee access. The court noted that "it is difficult to recognize the immediate necessity for such a ban, given the past conduct and history of the union’s activities."
A key point of contention moving forward remains the exact scale of the essential workforce.
"Management argued that a baseline of 7,000 personnel is required for regular weekdays, but our defense argued for a lower threshold based on weekend or holiday staffing levels, which the court cited," the union stated. "Therefore, the specific number of essential personnel on duty should be fewer than 7,000."
The union added a request for management to swiftly compile and notify them of the specific essential personnel requirements for each department so that the union can direct its members properly. They also noted they remain committed to reaching a settlement at the negotiating table.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics management and the labor union are scheduled to hold their second round of critical mediation talks later today at the National Labor Relations Commission in Sejong City.
The high-stakes meeting will be attended by Yeo Myung-goo, Executive Vice President of the Device Solutions (DS) People Team, representing management, and Choi Seung-ho, head of the united labor union, representing the workers. Park Soo-geun, Chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission, will also be in attendance to observe the negotiations.
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