The Samsung Group’s primary labor union has sent a formal request to Lee Jae-yong, the Chairman of Samsung Electronics, demanding a reform in human resources and performance compensation systems.
On the 18th, the union addressed a letter to Chairman Lee and Chung Hyun-ho, the head of Samsung Electronics’ Business Support Task Force (Vice Chairman), urging them to initiate substantial innovation in personnel and performance compensation systems as soon as possible.
The union stated, “After the new HR system implementation, the incentives for promotion and rewards have become practically non-existent, leaving many employees struggling to find motivation to work. Organizational culture innovation cannot happen without HR system reform.”
Furthermore, the union requested, “Abolish the salary cap, and establish an appropriate promotion system aligned with each role to allow employees to once again aspire to motivation and salary increases.”
The union also criticized the current Over-Profit Incentives (OPI) system, stating, “The OPI system has merely become a method for the company to reduce fixed labor costs. Only when a significantly high level of OPI is paid can salaries be comparable to those at other major corporations, making it difficult to consider OPI as a genuine performance bonus anymore.”
The union urged the company to improve the salary structure to allow OPI to function as a true performance bonus and introduce new compensation systems like Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).
In addition to HR and compensation system reforms, the union proposed the complete lifting of restrictions on the use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The union remarked, “It is foolish not to utilize the best tools available to compete globally. Remove the usage restrictions to enable efficient work.”