The National Samsung Electronics Labor Union, the largest labor union of Samsung Electronics, entered its second day of strike on July 9. According to local news, about 6,540 union members, or 21.3 percent of the total union members, went on strike for three days from July 8 to 10.

The union is demanding that the company implement higher pay increases and fulfill promises of paid holidays, as well as compensation for lost wages caused by the strike. Samsung Electronics responded to the strike on July 9, saying that due to the introduction of replacement workers the day before, there was no disruption to production and the operation of semiconductor production lines was not affected in any significant way. Samsung also said that fewer people participated in the strike on July 9 compared to the previous day.

Samsung Electronics has about 124,800 employees (as of the end of 2023), and about 80 percent of the members of the National Samsung Electronics Labor Union belong to the DS (Equipment and Solutions) division, which is responsible for semiconductors, so a large number of the workers who participated in the strike are DS employees.

The union rejected Samsung Electronics' labor-management council's request for a 5.1 percent wage increase this year and demanded a 6.5 percent wage increase. The union is threatening a second five-day general strike on July 15 if the management does not submit a proposal by July 10.

According to the 2023 global semiconductor manufacturer revenue ranking list released by market research firm Gartner, Samsung's 2023 semiconductor revenue plunged 37.5% to $39.9 billion due to the drag of the memory chip business, and was surpassed by Intel, ranking second.

In terms of specific products, Samsung has lagged behind in the field of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is needed for training artificial intelligence (AI). Samsung's rival, SK Hynix, also a South Korean semiconductor giant, began supplying fifth-generation HBM products to Nvidia in March this year, while products produced by Samsung Electronics have so far failed Nvidia's standard tests due to heat and power consumption problems.

In addition to the hottest HBM product line, Samsung is also declining in other semiconductor businesses.

Samsung's market share in the foundry business fell to 13% by revenue in the first quarter from 15.5% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Counterpoint Research.

In terms of revenue, although Samsung turned a profit in the first quarter of this year, with revenue of 6.606 trillion won, net profit was only 1.91 trillion won. SK Hynix's revenue was 12.43 trillion won, almost twice that of Samsung, and its net profit was 2.89 trillion won.

In addition, Samsung's title of "Korea's best Company of the Year" was also replaced by Hyundai Motor.