The 8-inch line, which produces legacy semiconductors, relies more heavily on manual labor compared to the automated advanced processes, making it a strategic target for the union’s actions.

SEOUL, July 12 (Korea Bizwire) – In an unprecedented move, the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) has launched its first general strike in the company’s history, focusing its efforts on semiconductor production lines to amplify its impact.

On July 11, the fourth day of the strike, approximately 350 union members gathered in front of the 8-inch line building at the Giheung campus to rally support and encourage wider participation in the walkout, the union announced.

The 8-inch line, which produces legacy semiconductors, relies more heavily on manual labor compared to the automated advanced processes, making it a strategic target for the union’s actions.

In a YouTube live broadcast the previous day, union representatives stated, “The 8-inch line is crucial as it requires essential human involvement. If we can remove workers from here, we can potentially halt the line.” They added, “Stopping the 8-inch line is our primary objective.”

The union also revealed plans to target High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) equipment, which they described as “the core semiconductor that the company values most.” This move is seen as an attempt to increase pressure on management by threatening production of a key product.

Consistent with their goal of disrupting production, the union plans to continue their demonstrations on July 12 in front of the HBM line cafeteria at the Pyeongtaek campus.

However, industry observers suggest that the likelihood of significant production disruptions remains low. The majority of semiconductor processes are automated, and the company has been managing vacancies by deploying replacement workers.

Samsung Electronics has maintained that production lines are operating normally without any disruptions so far.

The NSEU, Samsung’s largest in-house union, currently represents about 32,000 members, accounting for approximately 25.6% of Samsung Electronics’ total workforce of about 125,000 employees.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)