Samsung's critical union negotiations break down eight days before planned 18-day chip factory strike that's projected to cost $700 million per day — Korean PM calls emergency meeting as strike looms

Members of the Samsung Electronics labour union hold flags as they stage a mass rally demanding the removal of a cap on performance bonuses.

Government-mediated negotiations between Samsung Electronics and its largest labor union fell apart on Wednesday, according to Reuters, leaving just eight days before an 18-day strike that could shut down much of the world's biggest memory chip operation. The union warned that it is “no longer considering additional negotiations” until after the proposed general strike.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok responded by convening an emergency ministerial meeting, instructing officials to closely manage the situation given what his office called the potential gravity of the impact on the national economy.