South Korea President Lee rejects profit‑share demands as labor dispute

President Lee Jae‑myung told a cabinet meeting that requiring companies to allocate a set share of operating profit to workers should not be treated as a labor‑dispute issue and that the government should set clear standards for such matters. He raised the case of Samsung’s planned semiconductor plant on the former Gwangju airfield, where a union has warned that without agreement on profit‑share the project could stall.

Lawmaker Na Kyung‑won of the People Power Party criticised Lee’s stance, saying the president’s position on corporate and labor policy changes with political convenience and calling for amendment of “toxic” provisions in the labour relations law that allow profit‑share demands to become a bargaining chip.