Keep pulling the thread on Yulim Lee.
Samsung Electronics reached a deal with its labor union, narrowly averting a strike at the company.
Following a new labor deal, Samsung's chip division workers could receive AI-fueled bonuses averaging approximately $340,000.
Samsung's semiconductor unit accounted for more than 90% of the company's profit in the first quarter.
A potential strike at Samsung would have disrupted the global AI supply chain, as AI servers and data centers depend on the company's advanced memory chips.
A prolonged strike at Samsung would have negatively impacted South Korea's economy, where semiconductors accounted for 36% of total exports in the first quarter.
Yulim Lee believes that the internal division caused by the new bonus structure is currently the biggest risk facing Samsung.
The labor dispute at Samsung is expected to influence other South Korean companies, with workers at Hyundai Motor and Kakao already threatening to strike for similar profit-sharing demands.
SK Hynix established a precedent-setting policy to give 10% of its operating profit as bonuses to employees for the next 10 years.
The Bank of Korea warned in an internal report that a potential strike at Samsung could have a material impact on South Korea's national GDP growth.
As part of its new labor deal, Samsung agreed to a bonus structure that sets aside approximately 12% of its operating profit for chip division workers.
The large disparity in bonuses between Samsung's chip division and its other units has created deep internal division and demoralization among employees.
Both Samsung and SK Hynix recently saw their market capitalizations cross the $1 trillion threshold.