The Korean Society of Semiconductor Engineering urged Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and its union to abandon plans for a general strike and return to dialogue, warning that a walkout would deal a "devastating blow" to Korea's entire semiconductor industry ecosystem.
The Korean Society of Semiconductor Engineering, the country's first academic society dedicated to semiconductors, issued the official statement Monday as the union's planned strike date approaches. The society expressed concern that "if negotiations are prolonged or production disruptions accumulate, the ripple effects could extend beyond labor and management to suppliers, the research community, and the pipeline for training future talent."
"The semiconductor industry has accounted for more than 20% of national exports and now approaches 40%, serving as a pillar that has supported Korea's economy, and Samsung's semiconductor business is a critical part of that pillar," the society said. "Materials, parts and equipment suppliers, as well as professors and students in our society, have all grown together by conducting research and communicating within the Samsung semiconductor ecosystem."
The society particularly noted that as global competition in artificial intelligence (AI) intensifies, countries around the world are pursuing record-scale semiconductor investments, emphasizing that this is a time when Korea must consolidate its industrial capabilities.
"At this critical juncture for the nation, we earnestly appeal to both labor and management to deeply consider the devastating ripple effects on the national economy and the entire semiconductor industry, and to bring negotiations to an amicable conclusion," the society said.
Founded in 2017, the Korean Society of Semiconductor Engineering is led by Choi Ki-young, professor emeritus at Seoul National University's College of Engineering and former Minister of Science and ICT.
Separately, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok addressed the public on the Samsung Electronics strike at the Government Complex in Seoul the same day, welcoming the labor and management's decision to resume post-mediation talks on the 18th. "The government sincerely welcomes this," he said.
"If the Samsung Electronics strike creates a situation in which massive damage to the national economy is feared, the government will have no choice but to consider every possible response, including emergency mediation, to protect the national economy," he warned.
"At the same time, let me make this clear. The negotiations on the 18th are effectively the last chance to prevent the strike," Kim stressed. "Neither labor nor management should take the weight of this meeting lightly."
