Samsung Heavy workers threaten delivery delays over frozen bonuses despite record profits in Shipbuilding News 01/01/2026 As Samsung Heavy Industries achieved its best performance in 11 years this year, a labor-management conflict over the size and calculation standards of year-end bonuses is spreading to concerns about production disruptions. The Target Achievement Incentive (TAI) paid on the 24th was set at 50% of the monthly base salary, the same level as the first half and last year, prompting a strong backlash from employees. The Samsung Heavy Industries workers’ council, following a protest trip to the Samsung Group’s Seocho office, has even warned of physical actions such as refusing vessel deliveries. According to the shipbuilding industry on the 31st, the Samsung Heavy Industries workers’ council has been holding a protest in front of the Samsung Electronics Seocho office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, since the 29th, demanding improvements to the bonus system. The council said that if the management does not present a forward-looking plan, it will raise the level of struggle from a simple picket protest to actions that cause tangible production damage. Chairperson Choi Won-young of the Samsung Heavy Industries workers’ council told ChosunBiz, “Even though we achieved our best results in more than a decade after passing through a long tunnel of losses, the company is still hiding behind opaque standards to ignore employees’ legitimate demands for compensation.” Choi noted, “Support from the field is essential for future flagship businesses such as MASGA to get on a successful track,” adding, “If the structure in which the management monopolizes the gains is not fixed, employees will have no rationale to work with a sense of mission.” The council raised the pressure by delivering an official letter to Vice Chairperson (CEO) Choi Sung-an of Samsung Heavy Industries the previous day, demanding that a labor-management negotiation table be set up for the bonus system and that an improvement plan be presented. The council plans to escalate its struggle to actions such as halting processes and delaying vessel deliveries if Choi does not provide a convincing answer by Jan. 9. Operating profit up 70%, but employee discontent grows over flat bonuses Brokerages expect Samsung Heavy Industries’ operating profit this year to increase more than 70% from last year. According to financial data firm FnGuide, as of the 29th, the annual operating profit consensus (average of securities firms’ forecasts) for Samsung Heavy Industries is estimated at 871.3 billion won, and net profit at 657.9 billion won. Compared to last year (operating profit 503 billion won, net profit 64 billion won), results have improved significantly. Profitability has especially strengthened in the second half. According to brokerage estimates, Samsung Heavy Industries’ second-half operating profit is predicted to have increased 60% from the first half. On the 24th, Samsung Heavy Industries paid employees 50% of their monthly base salary as the second-half Target Achievement Incentive (TAI), the same as last year and the first half of this year. TAI, one of Samsung Group’s regular bonus systems, is paid twice a year, in the first and second halves, with up to 100% of the monthly base salary paid on a differential basis according to evaluation criteria. In TAI evaluations, Samsung Heavy Industries uses comparative indicators such as operating margin, earnings per share, and re