Samsung Electronics union feud turns legal as bonus dispute fuels 'union vs. union' war

Internal tensions within Samsung Electronics' largest labor union — the Samsung Group cross-company union's Samsung Electronics branch — have escalated beyond mudslinging into outright legal confrontation. A dispute over performance bonuses between the semiconductor (DS) and consumer electronics (DX) divisions has deepened, and a separate "union vs. union" conflict is now intensifying between the DS-centered cross-company union and the DX-centered Donghaeng union.

Lee Song-i, the vice chairwoman who oversees accounting for the cross-company union, recently disclosed financial records and receipts related to Chairman Choi Seung-ho's use of union dues and said she plans to ask investigators to verify the facts, according to industry sources Thursday.

Lee alleged that mileage and reward points accumulated through approximately 425.96 million won ($311,000) in card payments made by the union may have been credited to Choi personally rather than to the union.

She said the first installment of 235.2 million won for two Risom Resort memberships was split across a corporate card and a Korean Air co-branded personal card, but that no records could be found showing the associated benefits were returned to the union.

She also said receipts totaling 112.29 million won for union supplies purchased at Lotte department stores showed L.POINT reward credits accrued under the name "Choi *ho."

Lee said she plans to file a formal complaint with investigators based on the documents she has made public.

Earlier, Choi had already been embroiled in a conflict-of-interest controversy after it emerged that he had contracted with a company run by his father-in-law for roughly 370 million won worth of goods — including rally vests — during joint labor-action activities.

Choi acknowledged the transactions but said the vendor was selected after comparing prices and delivery timelines from multiple suppliers, and denied that he or any relative received kickbacks, commissions or any other improper financial benefit. A civic group has since filed a police complaint against Choi on charges including breach of fiduciary duty and obstruction of business.

Analysts say the controversy is also rooted in a power struggle within the cross-company union itself. The union's leadership suspects that Vice Chairwoman Lee and Gwangju chapter head Lee Won-il leaked details of the father-in-law contract to outside parties, and has decided to hold a no-confidence vote against both.

Chairman Choi belongs to the DS division, while Vice Chairwoman Lee and chapter head Lee Won-il are from the DX side. The union leadership contends that the two sought to oust Choi in order to block a restructuring that would shift the organization's focus toward DS.

The conflict has now spilled beyond the cross-company union's internal affairs into a broader inter-union dispute. The cross-company union has announced plans to restructure this month to limit membership to DS division employees.

The union said the rift with the DX-centered Donghaeng union widened after Donghaeng broke away from the joint bargaining committee during this year's wage and collective agreement negotiations, demanding that performance bonuses be pooled and redistributed using company-wide resources. The cross-company union declared it would conduct separate wage negotiations with Donghaeng starting with the 2027 bargaining round.

The Donghaeng union, which centers on DX division workers and now counts 30,916 members, has grown close in size to the cross-company union's 53,077 members, turning the rivalry into a contest for bargaining dominance as well.

The emotional divide between the DS and DX unions is deepening. After inflammatory language targeting Choi and others appeared in a Donghaeng union chat channel, the cross-company union sent a formal letter demanding an official response and measures to prevent a recurrence.

The Donghaeng union has also launched a campaign to collect petitions calling for harsh punishment of Choi, after prosecutors referred him to trial without detention on Sept. 4 on charges of compiling a "union blacklist" — a membership roster containing personal data on roughly 100,000 Samsung Electronics employees.

Meanwhile, if Choi is convicted in the blacklist case, disciplinary dismissal is being discussed as a possible outcome.

Samsung's compliance committee has also been closely monitoring the escalating inter-union conflict within Samsung Electronics.

Committee Chairman Lee Chan-hee said Tuesday that "labor rights are an important principle that must be upheld not only in labor-management relations but also in relations between unions."

Inside Samsung Electronics, there are growing concerns that if the inter-union conflict drags on ahead of next year's wage and collective bargaining negotiations, reaching an agreement could become significantly harder.