SK Hynix's Korean workers launch unified union amid stalled wage talks

Workers at SK Hynix on Thursday launched a new labour union in South Korea, seeking to bring together employees across different job categories and locations as they pursue greater bargaining power at the leading memory chipmaker.

The launch comes as SK Hynix and its existing unions are locking horns over annual wage talks, after the chipmaker posted record quarterly profits on strong demand for AI infrastructure.

Nearly ‌2,500 SK ⁠Hynix workers ⁠have joined the new union, according to its website. The union was formally launched after the government approved an application. ​SK Hynix has nearly 35,000 employees in South Korea.


Unlike existing unions organised around particular job categories or workplaces, ​the new union aims to represent employees across SK Hynix's operations, including factory workers in Icheon, Cheongju, as well as technical and office staff.

Its immediate goal is to become a majority union ​by signing up more than half of the company's workforce, which ⁠would give ‌it greater influence in negotiations with management.

Control over collective bargaining

The chipmaker last year agreed with its union to allocate 10% of annual operating profit to employee bonuses ⁠in cash under a deal that would remain in place for 10 years.

But SK Hynix this year proposed paying a majority of ​workers' bonuses in shares rather than cash, after its peer Samsung Electronics agreed on similar terms earlier this year.

Park Ji-soon, a social security law professor at Korea University's School of Law, said the launch could trigger competition among unions for members, as becoming the majority union is key to securing control over collective bargaining.

He said a shift towards stock-based bonuses could prompt unions to ‌seek other benefits such as housing loans comparable with those at rival Samsung Electronics.

Kim Yong-jin, a management professor at Sogang University, said while workers' concerns over ​stock compensation were ​understandable, given the volatility of ⁠Korean stocks, equity-based bonuses were common in the United States.

Investors have also questioned whether allocating 10% of operating profit to employees reduces funds available for investment or shareholder returns.

In May, Samsung Electronics ​and its unionised workers agreed on a deal on performance pay, averting a major strike at the chip giant that had threatened to disrupt supplies. Samsung agreed to allocate 10.5% of its annual semiconductor operating profit to special bonuses for chip workers. The bonuses would be paid in company stock, with the immediate sale of over a majority of the shares to be restricted.