Court Grants Samsung Electronics Injunction to Restrict Strike Actions

Safety facilities, wafer-protection work and facility occupation all restricted

A court in Suwon on May 18 granted Samsung Electronics Co.'s request for a preliminary injunction against illegal strike actions by the Samsung Electronics branch of a supra-enterprise union and related parties. The Suwon District Court accepted all three of Samsung's core requests: maintenance of safety facilities, security work to prevent wafer deterioration, and a ban on occupying company facilities.

In the first part of its order, the court said safety facilities, including disaster-prevention, ventilation and drainage systems, must be maintained and operated during labor action at the same staffing levels, operating hours, operating scale and standard of care as on normal weekdays, weekends and holidays. The court interpreted "normal maintenance and operation" under Article 42-2 of South Korea's Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act to mean the same level as before the labor action.

In the second part, the court recognized work to prevent damage to production facilities and work to prevent wafer deterioration as security work under Article 38-2 of the labor law. It ruled that those tasks must continue during a strike at the same level as usual, backing Samsung's argument that wafers could be damaged or degraded.

In the third part, the court barred the Samsung Electronics branch of the supra-enterprise union and branch chief Choi Seung-ho from occupying all facilities covered by Samsung's application, citing Article 42-1 of the labor law.

The court did not issue a separate occupation ban against the National Samsung Electronics Union and senior vice chairman Woo Ha-kyung, who is serving as acting chairman. It said that did not mean occupation was permitted, but that it did not see a high likelihood they would attempt it.

The court also imposed daily noncompliance penalties. Each union must pay Samsung Electronics 100 million won ($72,500) per day for any violation, while Choi and Woo must each pay 10 million won ($7,250) per day.

The decision came three days before a general strike scheduled for May 21. With the court granting most of Samsung's key requests, the form and scale of the walkout face significant constraints. Violations would trigger sizable daily penalties for both the unions and their leaders, which could also weigh on strike momentum.

Heo Ran, Hankyung.com reporter why@hankyung.com