Samsung Non-Chip Workers Plan Protest Rally Over Bonus Disparity as AI Memory Boom Widens Internal Pay Gap

TradingKey - According to media reports, employees from Samsung Electronics' smartphone, television, and home appliance divisions plan to hold a rally near the company's headquarters in Suwon, South Korea, on July 16, protesting that the company's latest compensation agreement is significantly skewed toward the semiconductor division. Approximately 2,000 to 3,000 employees are expected to participate in the rally.

The focus of this dispute lies in the bonus disparity between different business units. Reports state that employees in Samsung Electronics' non-chip divisions are expected to receive treasury stock bonuses of about 6 million won in 2026, whereas some employees in the semiconductor division could receive bonuses of up to approximately 600 million won, representing a nearly hundred-fold gap. Previously, Samsung Electronics reached an agreement with the labor union to allocate a portion of the semiconductor division's operating profits for special employee bonuses to avert the risk of a large-scale strike.

Behind the bonus polarization is the change in profit structure driven by the AI memory cycle. As demand for AI servers continues to grow, prices for DRAM, NAND, and High Bandwidth Memory have strengthened significantly, rapidly restoring the profitability of Samsung's semiconductor business. The market expects that Samsung Electronics' second-quarter operating profit could surge year-on-year, with operating profit reaching approximately 8.6 trillion won, making the chip division once again the core driver of the company's profit improvement. In contrast, consumer electronics businesses such as smartphones, televisions, and home appliances show weaker growth elasticity, leading to clear differences in profit-sharing demands among employees in different divisions.

Samsung Share Price Daily Chart, Source: TradingView

Following the announcement, Samsung's stock price edged slightly lower during intraday trading but rallied again toward the close. By the market close, Samsung's share price rose 2.75% to close at 318,000 won, having earlier gained over 4% intraday—reaching a high of 325,000 won—supported by Q2 earnings expectations.