A view of the Blue House. Kyunghyang Shinmun file photo

On the 20th, the Blue House stated regarding wage negotiations between labor and management at Samsung Electronics that “it is deeply regrettable that the Central Labor Relations Commission post-mediation collapsed”.

Kang Yu-jeong, the Blue House senior spokesperson, said the same day, “Even before the final deadline, in view of concerns about the impact on the Korean economy, we ask that you do your utmost until the end to reach a labor-management agreement,” thus conveying this position.

Earlier that day, the Central Labor Relations Commission officially announced that the second round of post-mediation between Samsung Electronics labor and management had collapsed. In response, the Samsung Electronics union plans to press ahead with a general strike on the 21st as previously announced.

The government has indicated that, to prevent economic damage that a Samsung Electronics strike could cause, it may invoke emergency mediation powers that would halt industrial action and allow it to mediate directly between the two sides.