Cip AI Explosion Makes Samsung Profitable, Workers Demand Bonus
JAKARTA - The explosion of the chip business for artificial intelligence or AI has made Samsung Electronics and SK hynix reap huge profits. But from the factory floor, workers are starting to ask, who is enjoying the AI boom the most?
Citing a Yonhap report, Wednesday, May 13, the two South Korean semiconductor giants recorded record profits in 2025 thanks to a surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory or HBM chips. These chips are widely used in AI systems and data centers. The combined operating profit of Samsung and SK hynix reached 90 trillion won or about 61 billion US dollars.
At Samsung, unions are demanding a performance-based bonus of 15 percent of operating profit and the removal of a bonus payment cap. They are threatening a 18-day strike starting May 21 if their demands are not met.
The threat came after management and the union failed to reach an agreement on wages, despite two days of government-mediated negotiations.
Samsung posted operating profit of 43.6 trillion won last year. Operating profit in the first quarter also jumped sharply compared to the same period last year.
Analysts warn a major strike at Samsung could disrupt semiconductor production and hit South Korea's export-reliant economy. Some estimates put the potential losses at more than 40 trillion won.
The pressure on Samsung is growing as SK hynix was the first to meet the union's demands. Last year, the company set a bonus of 10 percent of operating profit and removed the bonus payment limit.
From the factory, this issue has spilled over into politics. The Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy Kim Yong-beom proposed the idea of a "public dividend". The funds come from excess tax revenue during the chip industry boom to support funding for startups, pensions, and worker training in the AI era.
"The fruit of the AI infrastructure era is not the result created by a certain company alone... the fruit was born on the foundation built together by all the people for half a century," Kim wrote on Facebook.
The idea has investors jittery. Samsung and SK hynix shares fell on Tuesday afternoon as concerns over possible government intervention or tax hikes on corporate profits emerged.
The combined market capitalizations of Samsung and SK hynix now account for about 47 percent of South Korea's main index, the KOSPI. This figure shows how big the semiconductor sector is to the country's economy and stock market.
The opposition reacted strongly. The leader of the People Power Party, Jang Dong-hyeok, called the idea similar to profit redistribution ala "communism". The chairman of the New Reform Party, Lee Jun-seok, assessed that companies were forced to bear social responsibility beyond tax obligations and shareholder returns.
Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon hopes the Samsung case opens a social discussion on how companies divide profits. The issue is no longer limited to workers' bonuses, but the direction of South Korea's economy amid the AI explosion.