The nickname of the first labor union ever formed at Samsung SDS (018260.KS) is the "Sundung SDS Union." The name carries the meaning of a union created by those who were docile and obediently followed their superiors' orders until they could no longer endure it. It is a somewhat self-deprecating name, and Samsung SDS employees coined it themselves. This is not a story unique to Samsung SDS. It is also an identity commonly found among workers at large corporations' system integration (SI) affiliates. They evaluate themselves this way: the passionate IT developers left long ago, and those who chose the stability offered by large corporations remained at the company.
These docile developers in the SI industry are organizing unions for the first time in 30 to 40 years. Following Samsung SDS, Hyundai AutoEver (307950) and Shinsegae I&C — three unions launched in the past week alone. The banner the unions raised on the surface is transparent performance-based compensation. But beneath the surface, a different anxiety can be detected: that they can no longer expect stability from their companies. At the center of that anxiety is artificial intelligence (AI). SI companies have traditionally run their IT services businesses by deploying large numbers of development personnel. But as AI becomes widespread, dependence on people in IT services work has begun to decline.
The employees did not simply sit idle and demand job security. Rather, they offered their opinions, suggesting that the company and workers seek out new sources of revenue and pursue growth together. As a tsunami-scale era shift called AI approached, even those who had chosen decades of stability appealed for the need to change. But the company's response was said to be lukewarm. One SI company union chairman sighed and said, "Employees have long recommended to management that they 'increase investment in new businesses,' but the only answer that came back was that 'the room to maneuver on new businesses is narrow because they have to watch the parent company's reactions.'" With their own positions under threat and the company failing even to present a vision for the future, the developers took collective action for the first time.
Forming a union is not something special. But the phenomenon of people who were quiet for decades rallying simultaneously is a rather important signal. Wise management should not merely be surprised by news of union formation. They should read the sense of crisis behind this unfamiliar wave and engage in self-reflection. The limits and challenges that management must face squarely are clear: labor-dependent IT services, the small fees earned from reselling foreign AI services, and dependence on group affiliates for sales. It is time to listen to the voices demanding the creation of new added value and for labor and management to seek a breakthrough together.
