Samsung DX Union Holds Rally in Front of Seocho Office: "Take Responsibility for Management Failures"

The Samsung Electronics Donghaeng Labor Union, primarily composed of employees from the company's DX (Device eXperience) division which handles home appliances, TVs, and smartphones, held a rally claiming that the deterioration in profitability is the management's fault and demanding the creation of a common financial resource.

The Donghaeng Union held a rally near Samsung Electronics' Seocho office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, today (the 21st), stating, "The company is shifting all the blame for management failures onto employees." They added, "The company must answer why executives are compensated based on overall company performance while employees are told to fend for themselves by business unit, and why the price of poor management decisions falls back on employees in the form of cost-cutting and workforce reductions."

The union emphasized that the profitability decline in the DX division, including the MX business unit turning a deficit, is the management's responsibility.

They argued that the rise in memory prices—the main cause—was a predictable factor, yet management failed to prepare long-term supply contracts or defend SCM (Supply Chain Management) costs against it.

According to estimates, about 3,500 participants attended the rally according to the organizers, while management estimated 1,800 attendees.

Rally participants marched near the Samsung Electronics Seocho office chanting slogans such as "Step down, Park Hak-kyu and Jung Hyun-ho," "Take responsibility for management failures," and "Explain the record sales and record deficits."

The Donghaeng Union demanded ▲ 1,000 shares of company stock per DX division employee, ▲ the establishment of a common fund based on a fixed percentage of overall company performance, and ▲ the application of the same base-up rate (base salary increase rate) across the entire company.

Regarding the calculation of 1,000 shares as compensation, they explained that during past boom periods of the DX division, additional performance shares were not distributed, and the value was instead reinvested into semiconductors and other areas for overall corporate competitiveness, which corresponds to this request.

The union added, "This is not simply an unreasonable demand saying 'give us as much as the DS division.' If the 1,000-share demand is deemed excessive, the company has the willingness to present objective contribution evaluation criteria and verify them together."

They argued that a common fund is necessary to mutually compensate for imbalances caused by differing business cycles between the semiconductor and finished product industries over the long term.

They claimed that a virtuous cycle should be created by accumulating a certain percentage of overall company performance into a common fund and then distributing performance by business unit.

Meanwhile, some critics point out that the timing of this rally lacks justification, calling it a "belated struggle."

There is also criticism that demanding 1,000 shares of company stock per person—amounting to 12 trillion won—is an unreasonable request given the management crisis in the DX division.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.