According to industry sources on the 5th, the union plans to begin with a launch ceremony on the 18th of this month, followed by continued rallies and one-person protests near Lee's residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. No end date has reportedly been set.
The union claims the DX division was sidelined during the wage negotiations agreed between Samsung Electronics (005930) management and labor in May. It also argues the compensation gap with the Device Solutions (DS) division, which handles the semiconductor business, is excessive.
The union is demanding 1,000 treasury shares per DX division employee, the creation and distribution of a common pool of funds based on a set percentage of company-wide performance, and the uniform application of the base pay increase rate (base-up) across the entire company.
The group previously held a rally near Samsung Electronics' Seocho building in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 21st of last month. At the time, it argued that deteriorating profitability was a management failure by executives and called for dialogue with management over the DX division employees' demands.
Business circles criticize the demand for 1,000 treasury shares per person as unreasonable for a DX division in the midst of a management crisis. Based on the previous day's closing price of 255,500 won and the division's 50,214 full-time employees, the payout would amount to roughly 12.83 trillion won. One business official voiced concern: "In an emergency management situation where even the possibility of an annual loss at the DX division is being discussed, handing out trillions of won in treasury shares regardless of performance could undermine the very principle of rewarding based on results."
Others say the union lacks justification for taking collective action belatedly, after wage negotiations were settled through government mediation and an agreement was reached between labor and management. The official said, "Taking a matter where negotiations, the vote and the court ruling have all concluded to the chairman's front door has neither justification nor practical effect," adding, "Now is the time to quickly regroup and help overcome the business conditions of a DX division facing the risk of losses."
