President Lee Jae Myung said Monday that corporate management rights should be respected as much as labor rights, remarks that appeared aimed at easing tensions ahead of a possible strike at Samsung Electronics.

President Lee Jae Myung (Yonhap)
President Lee Jae Myung (Yonhap)

Although Lee did not mention Samsung or its union directly, the comments came as the company and labor representatives prepared for what could be their final wage talks before a planned strike later this week.

In a post on X, Lee said South Korea’s liberal democratic and market economic system requires respect for both labor and business.

“Workers should be able to receive fair compensation for their labor, while shareholders who invested while bearing risks and losses also have a rightful share in corporate profits,” he wrote.

Lee added that while the Constitution guarantees fundamental rights, they may be limited for the public good as long as their essential nature is not violated.

Samsung Electronics management and union representatives are set to hold a second round of post-mediation talks Monday at the National Labor Relations Commission ahead of the union’s planned 18-day walkout beginning Thursday.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Sunday welcomed the resumption of negotiations but warned that the government could invoke emergency arbitration if the talks collapse.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI -- Ed.


milaya@heraldcorp.com