SK Hynix Workers Approve Revised Wage Deal

As of September 16, 2026, SK Hynix's labor union passed a revised wage and collective bargaining agreement with 57.08% approval in a two-day member vote. The result comes about three weeks after an initial deal was narrowly voted down on August 25, with the key fix being a bump in the cash portion of profit-sharing bonuses from 40% to 50%.

57.08%Member approval rate for the revised agreement

95.37%Voter turnout in the revote

50% cashCash share of profit-sharing bonus (up from 40%)

About 3 weeksTime from the first rejection to the revote's passage

Key points

Of the union's 16,039 members, 15,297 cast ballots for a 95.37% turnout, with the measure passing 8,731 votes to 6,566.
The original late-August tentative agreement failed by just 25 votes among production workers, even as office and technical staff approved it by nearly two-thirds.
The revised deal rebalances the cash-to-stock ratio for profit-sharing bonuses to 50-50 and lets workers convert their cash portion into stock in 10-percentage-point increments.
Management and the union also agreed to pay out deferred bonuses originally scheduled to be split across the next two years all at once.

SK Hynix's new wage and collective bargaining agreement has cleared a member vote, effectively wrapping up this year's negotiations. After the first tentative deal stalled at the ballot box on August 25, management and the union spent roughly two weeks back at the table before unveiling a revised proposal on September 9. That proposal went to a two-day member-wide vote on September 15 and 16, and it passed comfortably, with more than half the vote.

The final tally showed 8,731 votes in favor, or 57.08% of the total, against 6,566 opposed. Of the 16,039 eligible voters, 15,297 cast ballots, for a turnout above 95%. In the late-August vote on the original deal, production workers split 7,510 to 7,535, sinking the agreement by just 25 votes, while office and technical staff approved the same deal with more than 66% in favor — exposing a sharp divide between job categories.

At the heart of the revised deal is a change to how profit-sharing bonuses, known as PS, get paid out. The original proposal split payouts 40% cash and 60% stock; the revision moves that to an even 50-50 split. On top of that, workers can now convert their cash portion into stock in 10-percentage-point increments, meaning anyone who wants their entire bonus in stock can now choose that option. The two sides also agreed to pay out, all at once, the deferred bonus tied to last year's earnings that was originally set to be split across payouts next year and the year after — easing any cash-flow strain the payment-structure changes might have caused members.

Ahead of the revote, management held more than 60 briefing sessions to explain the changes. The company said it was grateful to the union and employees for working through a difficult negotiation. The two sides plan to hold a formal signing ceremony before the Chuseok holiday to close out this year's labor talks, and the approval means they'll wrap up without any formal labor action.

In Korea right nowAs one of Korea's flagship semiconductor makers, SK Hynix's labor outcome drew close attention across the industry. The split between production and office/technical workers over cash versus stock bonuses was widely read as a broader debate over how to divide profits during a chip-industry boom. Many are watching whether this settlement becomes a reference point for other major Korean companies' labor talks.

FAQ

What changed most in this year's agreement?

The cash-to-stock split for profit-sharing bonuses moved from 40-60 to an even 50-50, and individual union members gained the option to convert part of their cash bonus back into stock.

Why did the first agreement fail?

Production workers voted it down by a razor-thin 25-vote margin, even though office and technical staff approved the same deal with more than 66% support — revealing a split between job categories.

Does this mean SK Hynix will face a strike or other labor action?

No. With the revised deal approved, this year's wage negotiations will wrap up without any formal labor action, and a final signing ceremony is planned before the Chuseok holiday.