President Lee: Labor union actions must have limits, not cause 'serious pain'

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday that collective actions by labor unions should remain within "certain limits" and do not cause "serious pain" to others.

Lee made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting after last-minute wage negotiations between Samsung Electronics Co. and its labor union broke down, only a day before the union's planned general strike.

"It is all good for certain labor unions to ... pursue their interests through their right to collective action, but there must be certain limits to it," Lee said.

He said the right to collective action should not be abused or exercised in a way that causes "serious harm" to others, adding that it may be the government's role to help members of society observe those limits and to fulfill its responsibilities when the limits are crossed.

The president stressed the three fundamental labor rights -- freedom of association, collective bargaining and collective action -- are intended to protect workers as socially vulnerable members, rather than to serve as a means for a few people to pursue their own interests.

Alongside workers' rights to fair compensation, creditors should also be able to recover their investments, while consumers and the broader business ecosystem involving related companies should also be protected, he noted.

The president added the government also contributes to companies' operating profits by cutting taxes, providing facility support, revising institutions and engaging in diplomacy.

"It would be impossible even for investors to take a certain share of operating profits that could otherwise be considered the collective share of the public through systemic arrangements, even before tax is deducted," he said in an apparent reference to the Samsung labor union's demand that a fixed portion of operating profits be set aside for bonuses.

The presidential office earlier expressed "deep regret" after the last-ditch government-mediated negotiations over bonuses linked to Samsung's record-high earnings collapsed, urging both sides to continue efforts to the end to divert the planned strike, which many say may be devastating not only to the company but to the entire nation.

"We deeply regret the breakdown of the post-mediation process by the National Labor Relations Commission," Cheong Wa Dae said in a release.

"We urge (both parties) to do their utmost, at least until the final deadline, to reach a labor-management agreement, taking into account concerns over the potential impact on the Korean economy," it added.

After the latest round of negotiations fell through, the labor union said it stage the strike on Thursday as planned.

The union has been demanding performance-based bonuses tied to earnings from the tech giant's artificial intelligence (AI)-related semiconductor business amid the ongoing global memory supercycle.

The company has said that it would allow bonuses equal to 10 percent of operating profit, while the union is demanding fixed performance bonuses equivalent to 15 percent of the outperforming semiconductor division's operating profit.

Industry officials had warned of the astronomical impact a full-scale strike could have on the broader South Korean economy, with estimated losses reaching up to 100 trillion won (US$66.98 billion).

Many see a lingering chance of a possible breakthrough before the threatened strike begins, as the government has raised the possibility of invoking an emergency adjustment measure that would suspend the strike for up to 30 days if it is deemed likely to seriously harm the national economy or disrupt the daily lives of citizens.