Labor strife at Busan's top semiconductor parts maker Leeno Industrial reaches boiling point

A labor dispute at Leeno Industrial, a Busan-based semiconductor test parts maker and the largest listed company by market capitalization in the city at approximately 5.43 trillion won ($3.84 billion) — sixth on the Kosdaq — has escalated to head-shaving protests and a hunger strike.

The Korean Metal Workers' Union's Leeno Industrial chapter has been on an indefinite general strike since July 23, with about 340 of the company's 665 active employees taking part. At a rally attended by 350 union members on Thursday, union chapter head Kim Seung-ha, senior vice chapter head Lee Heon-nam and Saemirae Labor Union chair Nam Ju-yeong shaved their heads. Lee also began a hunger strike that day.

The union said the company has "chosen confrontation while turning its back on dialogue and negotiations," accusing management of maintaining a combative stance rather than engaging in substantive talks despite repeated union calls for a negotiated settlement. "Rather than pressuring striking members, sit down with the union, identify the root causes and find a solution," the union said.

A company official pushed back in a phone interview Friday, saying the union had been demanding management simply decide whether to accept or reject each clause of the union's proposal with no room for adjustment. "We express deep regret over an approach that, rather than genuinely resolving the issues, only ratchets up pressure — from a general strike and outdoor rallies to now a hunger strike," the official said. The company added that it had paid an average annual performance bonus of 1,740 percent over the past five years, and that average annual pay per employee stood at 117 million won as of 2024.

At the heart of the dispute are wage and collective bargaining talks over how performance bonuses are structured. In its most recent revised proposal, the union called for a fixed bonus of 400 percent, a first-half performance bonus of 300 percent, and a separate year-end management performance bonus paid at the company's discretion. Management countered that the arrangement would in effect push the total regular bonus to 700 percent, raising ordinary wages by roughly 58.3 percent from current levels.

The union's revised proposal submitted Aug. 1 also included a clause requiring the company to pay a lump-sum settlement of 20 million won per union member directly to the chapter, as well as a collective bargaining provision requiring prior agreement with the union on major management decisions such as corporate splits, mergers, introduction of automated equipment and outsourcing.

With the strike now stretching past three weeks, production of semiconductor test pins and sockets has been disrupted. Leeno Industrial is a leading Kosdaq materials, parts and equipment company that supplies "Leeno Pin" test pins and IC test sockets — components used in the final defect-screening process after semiconductor packaging — to global clients including TSMC, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics.

As the standoff drags on, the Busan Regional Employment and Labor Office stepped in on Aug. 4, urging both sides to resume talks promptly and bargain in good faith, but the gap between the two parties has shown little sign of narrowing. Business groups in the region have also raised concern that a prolonged strike could cede market share to competitors in Taiwan and Japan.