Samsung Electronics faces an 18-day general strike scheduled to begin May 21. The walkout could involve more than 41,000 workers.
Wage negotiations collapsed after the union rejected government-mediated talks proposed for Saturday. Union leaders are demanding a more transparent and institutionalized performance-based bonus system.
Samsung has reportedly begun scaling back semiconductor production to mitigate potential disruptions. The South Korean government and the company urged the union to resume dialogue on Thursday.
The Finance Minister warned that a strike poses a significant risk to national economic growth. South Korea's exports are increasingly dependent on the booming semiconductor industry.