The 2026 BIO International Convention (BIO USA), the world's largest biotech event, wrapped up in San Diego on a high note. Among the pharmaceutical and biotech companies that gathered from around the globe to compete for partnerships and contracts, South Korean firms stood out for their growing stature. Armed with differentiated technology and production capabilities, domestic companies held back-to-back meetings with global big pharma players, drawing noticeably stronger attention to K-biotech than in previous years. Samsung Biologics operated a large standalone booth and pursued expanded cooperation with global customers, while a number of other Korean firms explored technology licensing and co-development opportunities, achieving meaningful results.
Yet even as K-biotech demonstrated its competitiveness on the global stage, concerns are mounting at home that labor-management disputes could undermine the industry's edge. At Samsung Biologics, wage and collective bargaining negotiations have dragged on, prompting a work-to-rule campaign, while Celltrion recently saw the launch of a new union — signs that labor issues are emerging as a fresh variable across the domestic industry. Many argue that while workers' rights and improved conditions deserve respect, the distinctive nature of a biotech industry competing in global markets must also be taken into account.
Those concerns are especially acute for global contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs). Most of the biopharmaceuticals Samsung Biologics produces — anticancer drugs and treatments for rare diseases among them — are difficult to substitute. In a manufacturing process that runs around the clock, even a minor scheduling disruption can ripple through global supply chains. Production stability is not simply a matter of corporate competitiveness; it is a core value directly tied to the continuity of patient treatment.
From a business standpoint, supply stability is the single most important factor in securing customer trust. Recent moves by the United States to restructure its supply chains have opened new opportunities for domestic CDMO companies, but global competition is at the same time fiercer than ever. For the elevated profile of K-biotech confirmed at BIO USA to translate into major contracts, companies must maintain a reputation not only for technological excellence but also for reliable, stable production. If prolonged internal labor disputes amplify concerns about production risk, the competitive advantages so painstakingly built could begin to erode.
The Samsung Biologics union has formally announced its withdrawal from the industry-wide union federation and is pursuing independent negotiations, pushing the labor dispute into a new phase. The two sides have recently resumed talks, but a settlement still looks uncertain. If the union continues to press excessive demands rather than seeking realistic common ground, the result could directly hobble K-biotech's momentum. The time has come for the union to make a decisive choice — one that accounts for the industry's unique characteristics, the continuity of patient treatment, and the trust of global customers, so that the competitive strength confirmed at BIO USA and the hard-won market opportunities it represents are not squandered by a prolonged labor struggle.
silverpaper@heraldcorp.com
