2026

By Jack Kim

SEOUL, May 20 (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics’ labour union plans to embark on a massive 18-day strike on Thursday after bonus payment talks with management collapsed and attention is now focused on whether the government will issue an emergency arbitration order.

Some 48,000 people plan to walk off the job with significant consequences for the South Korean economy and the supply of memory chips globally, and the government flagged at the weekend that such an order is possible.

Here are some things to know about the potential order:

WHAT HAVE AUTHORITIES SAID?

A South Korean government official said on Wednesday that talk of emergency arbitration is premature and that there was still time for dialogue.

The government is seen as union-friendly as President Lee Jae Myung is a former youth labourer who was injured on the job.

But Lee said on Wednesday that a certain union was “crossing the line” when it claimed a share of a company’s operating profit even before income tax is paid.

“There is a role for the government when anyone crosses the line to make sure they conduct themselves responsibly for the good of the larger community,” he told a cabinet meeting.

WHAT DOES THE EMERGENCY ORDER INVOLVE?

An emergency arbitration order has been invoked just four times in modern South Korean history. It puts a strike on hold for 30 days and requires both sides to continue talks mediated by the government’s National Labor Relations Commission.

The government can resort to such an order if it considers a strike would result in “significant injury to the national economy”.

If the commission considers that mediation has failed, the next step is an arbitration process under a separate panel that will hear from both parties before making a binding decision.

Anyone refusing to comply faces up to two years in prison or a 20 million won ($13,300) fine.

The last time the measure was invoked was in 2005 when Korean Air pilots walked off the job but agreed to a compromise pay hike after four days.

WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF A SAMSUNG STRIKE?

Samsung accounts for almost a quarter of the country’s exports. It is also the world’s largest memory chip maker and production disruptions could dent global supply at a time when the AI boom has caused shortages.

The strike could in a worst-case scenario shave 0.5 percentage points off a forecast 2.0% expansion for the South Korean economy this year, according to an official from the country’s central bank, who declined to be named.

South Korean officials have also said a major disruption of production at Samsung Electronics would translate to up to 1 trillion won ($665 million) in daily losses for the company.

COULD THERE BE POLITICAL FALLOUT?

South Koreans go to the polls on June 3 to elect mayors and governors across the country and the strike has the potential to sway swing districts. Currently, Lee’s liberals are expected to dominate.

The liberals are wary that they may lose labour votes, their traditional support base. Lee also wants to capture the moderate Gyeonggi province, which has seen its economy boom thanks to the tens of thousands who work at Samsung facilities there.

Samsung’s union, launched just two years ago, is not affiliated with any of South Korea’s major labour federations but some of the more established and militant unions have vowed to act in solidarity.

($1 = 1,504.9000 won)

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

source

By Stella Qiu

SYDNEY, May 20 (Reuters) – Asian stocks extended a losing streak on Wednesday as war-driven inflation fears hammered bonds, while investors awaited earnings from Nvidia to see whether the world’s most valuable company might be able to help markets navigate higher borrowing costs.

The sell-off in global bond markets persisted as investors ramped up bets that the Federal Reserve may need to increase interest rates this year.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit a 16-month high of 4.687% overnight, while the 30-year yield climbed to 5.198%, levels not seen since 2007.  

The gloom is set to spill into European stock markets when they open, with region-wide stock futures down 0.7%. Nasdaq futures slipped 0.1% while the S&P 500 futures eased 0.2%.

Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, with Brent crude futures off 0.5%, but staying above $110 a barrel at $110.7.

The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed and U.S. President Donald Trump said he might need to strike Iran again, a day after he said he was postponing an imminent attack to allow for more negotiations with Tehran.  

In Beijing, less than a week after Trump’s high-profile visit, Chinese leader Xi Jinping held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it was imperative to stop the war in the Middle East.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7% on Wednesday, down for a fourth straight day, while Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.5%, down for a fifth consecutive session.

South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.7%. Samsung Electronics dropped 1.4% after its union said it would  go ahead with an 18-day strike from Thursday, threatening the global supply of semiconductors.  

China’s blue-chip CSI300 index was flat, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index skidded 0.6%. 

“At this point of time, it remains my base case that we are seeing a corrective pullback after an absolutely phenomenal rally,” said Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG. “The U.S. yields obviously are creating some rumbles in the market and now attracting a lot of attention.

“Nvidia could come out and absolutely exceed expectations … but I don’t think so. I think the ability for Nvidia to just absolutely shoot the lights out and shock everybody like it has done, I don’t think that’s in its book of tricks anymore.”

The chipmaking giant will announce first quarter earnings after the market close on Wednesday. Expectations, as always, are sky-high. Revenue is projected to increase by almost 80% to nearly $79 billion, according to the median forecast in an LSEG survey of analysts.

Treasuries nursed losses in Asia, with the yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes holding steady at 4.6613%, having jumped 21 basis points in the past three sessions. The 30-year yield was flat at 5.1795% after a 17 basis point jump from last Thursday. 

The dollar stood near a six-week high against its major peers. It was steady at 158.95 yen, having gained for seven straight sessions that unwound most of the intervention-driven losses on April 30 when Japanese authorities stepped into the market to safeguard the yen at the 160 mark. 

The euro last bought $1.1597, having touched its lowest level since April 8 overnight. The British pound was at $1.3391, not far from the six-week low it touched earlier this week. 

Gold prices slipped 0.4% to $4,463 an ounce, the lowest since the end of March as the U.S. dollar gained. 

(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

source