Samsung Electronics workers and management have reached a deal on pay, averting a strike that had threatened to disrupt both the Korean economy and the global artificial intelligence boom.
After days of deadlocked talks, a late intervention by Labour Minister Kim Young-hoon brought both sides back to the table, with a deal finally reached at around 10.30pm local time — just 90 minutes before the strike deadline.
In a statement, Choi Seung-ho, the chair of the National Samsung Electronics Union, said that union members would hold a vote before May 27 on the agreement. He then pledged to do his “utmost to help stabilise labour-management relations at Samsung Electronics”. The union has asked members to report to work as usual on Thursday.