Lee signals possible intervention in Samsung dispute

President Lee Jae-myung said Monday that corporate management rights deserve the same level of protection as labor rights, underscoring that constitutional freedoms may be restricted when necessary to protect the public interest.

The remarks came three days before Samsung Electronics’ union is scheduled to launch a general strike on May 21 and were widely seen as signaling that the government could step in if the walkout moves forward.

In a post on X, Lee wrote, “Excess is as bad as deficiency, and when things reach an extreme, they inevitably reverse course.” The quote, drawn from classical Chinese philosophy, appeared to be a thinly veiled criticism of the union’s demands.

The Samsung Electronics union is demanding that the company scrap its current cap on performance bonuses, which is set at 50 percent of annual salary, and allocate 15 percent of operating profit to bonus payments.

“Workers deserve fair compensation for their labor, while shareholders who invested capital and assumed risk are also entitled to a share of corporate profits,” Lee wrote. “At one point, the nation’s founding Constitution even guaranteed workers the right to share in company profits.”

His comments suggested that calls by some unions, including Samsung Electronics’ labor union, to formalize profit-linked bonuses go too far, especially given that the constitutional provision on worker profit-sharing was later removed.

Lee’s direct message to the Samsung Electronics union also raised expectations that government intervention could become inevitable if the strike proceeds. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Sunday in a televised address that the government would consider all available measures, including emergency arbitration, if the strike threatens to cause serious damage to the national economy.

The National Labor Relations Commission, which is mediating talks between Samsung Electronics management and the union, said the second round of post-mediation negotiations that began Monday would continue through Tuesday. The talks were extended to two days as the two sides remain far apart on key issues.

Park Soo-keun, chair of the commission and the sole mediator in the negotiations, told reporters Monday that it would be difficult to produce a mediation proposal that day. It is highly unusual for the head of the commission to personally mediate a labor dispute involving a single company.

The government is also reportedly considering invoking emergency arbitration immediately if negotiations collapse and the union carries out the strike. Although current law does not clearly define when emergency arbitration must be initiated, officials are said to have concluded that there would be no legal issue with invoking it as soon as the strike begins.

At the same time, some officials are said to favor waiting longer and monitoring labor-management talks after the strike starts before deciding whether to intervene.


Hoon-Sang Park tigermask@donga.com