韩国劳动部指引限制工会就利润挂钩奖金发起强制谈判

SEOUL -- South Korea's tech boom is minting record profits, but new rules could make it harder for workers to claim a share.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor on Thursday issued guidelines stipulating that profit-linked employee bonuses are not subject to mandatory collective bargaining. The move follows the awarding by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix of bonuses averaging hundreds of thousands of dollars as the AI-fueled chip boom sent profits soaring.
This effectively means that companies may pay out profit-based bonuses if they choose to, but they have no formal obligation to negotiate profit-sharing with employees.
The new guidelines, issued by the left-leaning administration of President Lee Jae Myung, come amid a politically charged debate over who should reap the rewards of the AI and semiconductor surge, pitting unions warning of deepening inequality against businesses seeking greater control and predictability over pay.
With that debate showing no sign of dying down, the guidelines could have the effect of leaving workers with a smaller share of the technology sector's profits. "The guidelines risk entrenching a precedent for inequality in Korean society," said Yolanda Lannquist, global governance lead at Windfall Trust, a nonprofit focused on preparing economies for AI-led disruption.
"AI and chip profits are accelerating fast, and if we don't lay the foundations to distribute that wealth with workers and the public, it will concentrate in fewer hands," Lannquist told Nikkei Asia.
The key point of the guidelines is they stipulate that they preclude unions from launching a work stoppage to pressure companies to pay out bonuses, according to Park Ji-soon, a professor at the Korea University School of Law.
"Companies may continue to pay performance bonuses in consultation with labor unions, as is the existing practice. However, [the guidelines] clarify that such matters are not subject to strikes," Park told Nikkei.
Park added that were workers to routinely hold strikes demanding that roughly 10% of annual profits be paid out as bonuses, such a scenario would likely create friction with shareholders or creditors.
Throughout this year, unionized workers at chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have jousted with management seeking bonuses, with the employees arguing that they deserve a share of the pie that reflects the surging inflow of funds.
Unionized employees at Samsung's memory chip business unit successfully negotiated for an average bonus of 600 million won ($443,000) in the form of company shares. Workers in other divisions were entitled to much smaller bonuses.
At SK Hynix, company leadership announced plans to use 10% of its 2026 operating profit for bonuses to be paid early next year. Employees can choose to take the payments in cash or company shares, with the average employee receiving a bonus of about 400 million won.
SK Hynix's management and workers are currently involved in wage talks for this year. Workers recently announced the launch of a new, broader union representing staff from more parts of the company, seeking more clout in negotiations. The union was launched after the company proposed paying this year's bonuses in company shares instead of cash.
Labor groups were quick to decry the new government guidelines. The Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a major umbrella group, issued a statement calling the guidelines "anti-labor," while positing, "Corporate performance is achieved through workers' contributions, and the demand to share this as performance bonuses was a wholly sensible matter for labor-management bargaining."
Corporate groups were more positive. The Federation of Korean Industries said that the guidelines would "enhance predictability" while asking the government to go further and issue an enforcement decree.
A Friday editorial in the conservative Maeil Business Newspaper fretted over the fact that the guidelines are not legally binding. To give companies greater clarity and predictability, "the government must gather more opinions from management circles and move forward with supplementary legislation that carries legally binding force," the newspaper stated.
Absent actual legislation, businesses could get bogged down in legal disputes with workers, burdening the court system with responsibility to rule in worker-management negotiations, the editorial argued.
On Thursday night, President Lee posted on X about having just had an affable dinner with the leaders of major unions. The post struck a conciliatory tone, saying that dialogue over South Korea's tech boom and how to balance the interests of workers and management will continue in pursuit of an arrangement that suits all parties.
While Lee's post did not mention the collective bargaining guidelines specifically, it said, "I will listen to the voices of the labor sector and resolve the difficulties and concerns of the field one at a time."