Samsung Electronics' decision to provide 22.65 shares of company stock as a performance bonus to employees in its Device Experience (DX) division, which oversees home appliances and mobile businesses, has sparked internal conflict due to the perceived disparity in compensation.
Criticism toward management is intensifying among some employees within the DX division.
Some DX division employees are expressing their dissatisfaction by sending emails directly to the CEO, raising issues regarding the decision to grant 22.65 shares of company stock.
Previously, Samsung Electronics reached a tentative agreement on 2026 wage negotiations with the Samsung Group Super-Enterprise Labor Union, which is centered around the Device Solutions (DS) division, responsible for the semiconductor business.
Under this agreement, employees in the memory business unit of the DS division can expect performance bonuses of up to 600 million won, while employees in the DX division and the CSS business team were categorized separately to receive company stock worth 6 million won.
Even within the DS division, a compensation gap remains, with loss-making business units such as System LSI and Foundry being allocated relatively lower performance bonuses.
As dissatisfaction grows, some DX division employees pointed out in emails sent to management, including President Roh Tae-moon, "The CEO receives compensation in the billions or tens of billions of won, yet you are offering employees a mere 22.65 shares." They added, "Who would trust and follow a leader who demands crisis management and sacrifice only from the employees?"
Previously, on June 23, President Roh met with representatives from the National Samsung Electronics Union and the Samsung Electronics Union Donghaeng, the company's second and third labor unions, and stated, "As the head of the DX division, I am taking the current situation very seriously." He added, "I am fully aware of the sentiments and atmosphere among employees, and I empathize with the sense of relative deprivation and the difficulties that members are feeling."
Some DX employees are currently pushing for a plan to donate the 22.65 shares of company stock to the Donghaeng union, which is primarily composed of DX division employees, to be used as activity funds.
The donated funds are intended to be used for legal responses and supply costs related to the union's wage negotiations.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Choi Gang-san | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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