Samsung, union hold final mediation amid looming possibility of last-minute deal

Samsung Electronics and its largest labor union resumed government-led wage mediation Tuesday, with the looming possibility of reaching a last-minute deal to avert a strike at the world's largest memory chipmaker.

The two-day negotiations resumed days after the first round of mediation ended without a deal, as the two sides remained divided over performance-based bonuses ahead of an 18-day strike set to begin Thursday.

Park Soo-keun, chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission, said the two sides were still at odds over several issues but acknowledged there was still some possibility of reaching an agreement. "Both labor and management are making concessions," Park said, adding that one or two key issues have yet to be resolved.

Labor and management remain sharply split over performance-based bonuses tied to earnings from the tech giant's artificial intelligence (AI)-related semiconductor business, amid an ongoing global memory supercycle.

The company has proposed maintaining the current excess profit incentive system while allowing the bonus pool to be calculated based on 10 perc