Key facts
- SK hynix union members voted against a tentative wage deal.
- 50.08 percent of union members voted against the agreement.
- The tentative deal proposed a 6.3 percent wage increase.
- The incentive payment scheme was a key sticking point in negotiations.
- The union previously rejected tentative agreements in 2023 and 2024.
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- Workers at SK hynix Inc. have rejected a tentative wage agreement that was reached after two months of negotiations, according to industry sources. In an electronic ballot that concluded Tuesday morning, 7,535 union members, representing 50.08 percent of the vote, cast their ballots against the proposed deal. The voter turnout was high, with 15,045 out of the union's 16,083 members participating. The tentative agreement had proposed a 6.3 percent wage increase and a revised structure for the company's performance-based incentive payments. Under this proposal, 40 percent of the incentive would be paid in cash, with the remaining 60 percent in company shares. Of these shares, 40 percent would be available for sale in the year they are received, while the other 20 percent would be deferred and paid out in 10 percent installments over two years. Sources indicate that negotiations are expected to resume, with the performance-based incentive scheme likely to remain a central point of discussion, as it has been in previous rejected agreements in 2023 and 2024.