Samsung Electronics' labor and management have ultimately failed to reach an agreement in the post-mediation process before the National Labor Relations Commission. The two sides had been undergoing post-mediation procedures since May 12 under government mediation but were unable to narrow their differences. With the union having announced a general strike for the 21st, forecasts are growing that the government may invoke its emergency adjustment authority.
On the 13th, the National Labor Relations Commission concluded the Samsung Electronics post-mediation process at around 3 a.m. that morning. Nearly 17 hours of negotiations only reconfirmed the gap between the two sides' positions. Choi Seung-ho, chairman of the Samsung Electronics branch of the cross-enterprise union, stated: "Because the differences between the labor union and management did not narrow, we requested mediation and waited for nearly 12 hours, but the proposal only worsened." Samsung Electronics expressed deep regret in a statement released hours later, saying the unions had "continued to insist only on a rigid institutionalization framework, rejecting the company's proposal for a more flexible system tied to performance."
