Samsung union rift over 2027 pay talks widens before earnings call

Samsung Electronics’ labor unions are at odds over which of them will lead the company’s 2027 wage negotiations, Aju Press reported at 09:42 KST on Sunday, Oct 18, 2026. A day later, on Monday, Oct 19, Seoul Economic Daily reported that the rift between the unions had deepened ahead of the 2027 talks. Samsung has not commented publicly on the dispute.

The dispute involves the heaviest stock in Korea’s main index. Samsung accounted for 29.05% of the KOSPI 200’s total market value on Oct 19, with a market value of about 1,274.5 trillion won (about US$958 billion at 1,330.3 won per dollar).

Union rift comes after a 107.4 trillion won quarter

Preliminary third-quarter figures, filed Oct 8, put operating profit at 107.4 trillion won (about US$80.7 billion) on revenue of 195 trillion won. Operating profit was up 782.5% from a year earlier and was the highest in at least six quarters. Samsung has scheduled a conference call on its third-quarter 2026 results for Oct 29 at 10:00 KST.

A 15 trillion won buyback to pay staff in stock

Under a decision filed Aug 21, Samsung is acquiring 53,285,968 common shares worth about 15 trillion won (about US$11.3 billion) to fund stock compensation for executives and employees. The program runs from Aug 24 to Nov 21, 2026.

Shares trailed the KOSPI on Monday

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Samsung closed at 218,000 won on Oct 19, up 1.16% from 215,500 won on Oct 16, while the KOSPI rose 1.76% to 5,768.01. No outlet linked Monday’s move to the union story. The stock lost 12.97% over the five sessions to Oct 19, including a 9.48% drop on Oct 15. For more on how Samsung and SK hynix drive the index, see why the KOSPI swings so much.

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Information only, not investment advice.