In the heart of Samsung Electronics’ flagship Pyeongtaek chip manufacturing complex in South Korea, tens of thousands of unionized workers gathered in a mass public rally on Thursday, throwing their weight behind demands for transparent compensation and higher performance bonuses amid an unprecedented AI-driven surge in global memory chip profits. Organizers said around 40,000 union members participated in the demonstration, where attendees carried hand-painted signs and unfurled large banners, chanting calls for the removal of arbitrary bonus caps while a large contingent of local police monitored the gathering to maintain order. Official crowd estimates from law enforcement were not released immediately after the event.
The demonstration came just hours after Samsung’s cross-country competitor SK Hynix announced jaw-dropping quarterly financial results, posting all-time record highs for both revenue and operating profit in the first three months of the year. SK Hynix leadership directly attributed the explosive growth to soaring global demand for high-end memory chips, fueled by widespread investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure, including data centers that power large language models and generative AI services.
Together, Samsung and SK Hynix control roughly two-thirds of the entire global memory chip market, placing the two South Korean firms at the center of the AI boom reshaping the global technology economy. Earlier this month, Samsung forecast its own first-quarter operating profit would hit a record 57.2 trillion South Korean won, equal to roughly $38.6 billion, outstripping the 37.6 trillion won ($25.4 billion) that SK Hynix reported Thursday. Samsung’s larger profit forecast also reflects its more diversified business portfolio, which includes leading market positions in consumer smartphones and home electronics beyond its semiconductor division.
The Samsung Electronics union, which represents 74,000 workers across the company’s operations, has argued that frontline employees have been shut out of the massive windfall generated by the AI boom. Union leaders have rejected management’s current compensation proposal, which includes restricted stock as part of bonus packages, and are pushing hard to eliminate the formal cap the company places on performance-based bonus payouts.
If negotiations between the union and Samsung management fail to resolve the dispute by mid-May, the union has threatened to launch an unprecedented 18-day full strike starting May 21. Union officials estimate that a sustained work stoppage would cost the company more than 1 trillion won, or roughly $676 million, in lost revenue every single day the strike continues. Speaking to the crowd from an elevated platform mounted on a crane, union leader Choi Seung-ho reaffirmed the group’s commitment to its demands, telling attendees, “We won’t stop this fight until our fair demands are met.”
While the AI boom has delivered unprecedented profits to the world’s leading memory chip manufacturers, industry leaders still face growing uncertainty in the months ahead. Ongoing conflict in the Middle East has disrupted global supply chains for critical chipmaking inputs, most notably helium, and has pushed up global energy costs, casting a shadow over the strong short-term growth outlook for the sector.