u/self-fix2

Samsung Electronics has proposed performance bonuses of 607% of annual salary for its memory chip division, compared to just 50-100% for its foundry and System LSI units, reflecting a stark profit divide that has intensified labor tensions. The union argues that the gap, approximately ₩500 million (approximately $333,831) for memory staff versus ₩80 million (approximately $53,413) for foundry workers crushes morale and fuels employee turnover. The two sides are also separated by roughly ₩100 trillion (approximately $66.8 billion) in their respective operating profit forecasts. The union has threatened an 18-day general strike starting May 21, which JPMorgan estimates could erase up to ₩31 trillion (approximately $20.7 billion) in operating profit. Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun has urged executives to maintain unwavering management and a customer-first approach, while the company internally reiterated employees’ right to freely decide on strike participation.

https://finance.biggo.com/news/z41kL54BNl\_\_-4\_G9UaY

This is 607% of the workers' annual salary in bonuses, or 12% of annual profits expected this year.

The average annual salary for Samsung Electronics employees in South Korea is roughly 158 million won (approximately $115,000 to $118,000 USD depending on the current exchange rate), based on company business reports.

SK Hynix workers received 10% of annual profits, or 477K USD, 900K expected next year. Samsung workers are asking for 15%, over 1 million USD next year, a removal of bonus caps, and more stock options.

Summary and translation:

Incheon Metropolitan City is taking preemptive action to break through South Korea's low birth rate crisis.

First, boldly breaking away from existing policies that focused primarily on infancy and early childhood, the city introduced "i+ 100 Million Dream" for the first time in 2024. This policy provides uninterrupted support from the fetal stage until a child turns 18.

The city has since expanded the scope of its initiatives into the "i+ Dream" 6-Part Series. This comprehensive framework considers the entire life cycle, offering seamless support that covers youth dating, marriage, housing assistance, and childcare services.

Policy No. 1: "100 Million Dream" (1억드림) – A policy that provides 100 million KRW from the fetal stage up to age 18 for every child born in Incheon.

"Connect Dream" (이어드림 - Yeo-deu-rim) – A program designed to provide unmarried youth with natural and verified opportunities to meet potential partners, with a total of five events scheduled for this year.

"Match Dream" (맺어드림 - Maet-eo-deu-rim) – An extension of the matchmaking initiative, this policy assists engaged couples by offering famous local parks and hotels as free wedding venues and subsidizing a portion of wedding expenses.

"Home Dream" (집드림 - Jip-deu-rim) – Aimed at tackling housing issues, which represent a major obstacle to marriage and childbirth. Under this initiative, the city supplies 1,000 "1,000-Won Houses" annually—renting city-purchased or leased homes to newlyweds for just 1,000 KRW (approx. $0.75 USD) a day. Additionally, the "1.0 Interest Support" policy offers tailored assistance by subsidizing mortgage interest rates for newborn families wishing to buy their own homes. The "i+ Home Dream 1.0" loan program, which began accepting applications last September, is an initiative that subsidizes mortgage interest by up to 1% for households with newborns born this year. Eligible families can receive up to 3 million KRW annually per household, totaling 15 million KRW over a five-year period.

"Raise Dream" (길러드림 - Gilleo-deu-rim) – Provides robust, multilayered childcare support to fill the gaps caused by dual-income households or emergencies.

"Fare Dream" (차비드림 - Chabi-deu-rim) – Focuses on discovering practical everyday incentives, such as reimbursing 50% to 70% of public transportation costs for new parents.

According to Incheon City, comparing data from before and after the implementation of these policies, the number of newborns in Incheon has risen by 13.2%. The registered resident population also grew by over 30,000, reaching approximately 3.05 million. Notably, there has been an influx of younger demographics; 72% of the net population inflow last year consisted of individuals of childbearing age or younger.

SEOUL, May 16 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab and its South Korean labour union will resume pay talks ​on Monday with a government mediator, the union said, in a ‌move that could ease concerns over a potentially disruptive strike at the tech giant.

The union said in a statement on Saturday that Samsung Electronics had replaced the company's representative for ​the negotiations, while the two sides would have a separate meeting later ​on Saturday.

The union did not elaborate on Saturday's agenda. Samsung Electronics ⁠declined to comment on either meeting.

The announcement came shortly after Samsung Electronics ​Chairman Jay Y. Lee apologised to customers and the public over the labour dispute ​in his first public comments on the issue.

"I sincerely apologise to customers around the world for causing anxiety and concern due to issues within our company," Lee said in his ​first public remarks on the dispute, adding that he also "deeply bows in apology ​to the public".

The union leader said the new company negotiator apologised for a breakdown in ‌trust ⁠and pledged to engage sincerely in negotiations. He added that he conveyed his frustrations and would make every effort if Monday’s talks prove constructive.

After pay negotiations broke down this week, the labour minister met Samsung Electronics management on Saturday and urged ​the company to ​take an active ⁠role in resolving the dispute through dialogue.

South Korean government officials, including the prime minister and finance minister, have voiced concerns that ​a strike at Samsung should be avoided at all costs, ​warning it ⁠could pose significant risks to economic growth, exports and financial markets.

The collapse of the government-mediated negotiations heightened concerns about a strike at the world's biggest memory chipmaker, whose ⁠customers include ​Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab, AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab and Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab.

The union said on Friday it ​remained committed to a planned strike starting next week, even after the company proposed resuming pay talks ​without conditions.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/samsung-elec-chairman-apologises-customers-public-amid-labour-tensions-2026-05-16/

Here's the link to the article, since links sometimes don't work on Reddit's mobile version when thumbnails are GIFs:

https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-industry/2026/04/20/EHMQA724AVAB3JQ636Y7WVEF4U/

Robotis is expected to ship 1 million humanoid actuators by the end of this year.