Lee Jae-yong Says ‘Blame Me’ as Samsung, Union Resume Bonus Talks After Five Days

Samsung Electronics Co. and its labor union will resume negotiations on May 18 to try to resolve a dispute over performance bonuses.

The two sides are set to reopen talks at 10 a.m. on May 18 at the National Labor Relations Commission, South Korea’s labor dispute mediation body. The meeting comes five days after the union declared post-mediation talks had collapsed on May 13.

The return to the table was not straightforward. On May 15, senior executives including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jun Young-hyun visited the office of the company-wide labor union at the Pyeongtaek campus in Gyeonggi Province and asked to restart dialogue, but the union turned them down. Momentum shifted after Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon stepped in to mediate. He met union chief Choi Seung-ho on May 15 and Samsung management on May 16. During those talks, Choi asked Samsung to replace its chief bargaining representative, and the company changed the role from Vice President Kim Hyung-ro to Yeo Myung-gu, head of the people team.

A statement from Chairman Lee Jae-yong proved decisive in bringing the union back to negotiations. Lee, who returned early from an overseas trip on May 16, told reporters at the airport that “we are one body, one family” and that this was a time to pool wisdom and move in the same direction. He also said he would “take the brunt of the storm” and accept the blame himself, urging employees to do their best so they could be proud to be part of Samsung. The union accepted the proposal to resume talks, saying rebuilding trust could take time but that it hoped both sides would work from this round of negotiations to move forward together.

Even with talks restarting, the two sides remain far apart. The union is demanding the removal of a 50% cap on performance bonuses and the formal adoption of a system that allocates 15% of annual operating profit to bonuses. Management has said it can review a larger bonus pool but is reluctant to codify the system. Samsung argues that the semiconductor industry requires annual investment of tens of trillions of won, and fixing 15% of operating profit for bonuses could disrupt spending plans. The company also sees a risk that such a standard could become a precedent across South Korean industry.

The union, however, showed some flexibility during the post-mediation process. It proposed receiving 13% of operating profit as a cash bonus and 2% as a stock bonus. It also suggested shortening the period for abolishing the bonus cap to five years from 10. The National Labor Relations Commission also drafted a proposal to raise the level to 12% of operating profit. If both sides make concessions, a deal remains possible.

The union has warned that if its demands are not accepted, it will begin an 18-day general strike from May 21 through June 7.

Lee Jung-woo, Hankyung.com reporter krse9059@hankyung.com