Court ruled this morning. Suwon District Court partially granted Samsung's injunction. Workers must maintain normal staffing levels during any strike. Union can't block employees from entering facilities. In semiconductor manufacturing that's the whole ballgame. You can't scrap wafers if the lines stay staffed.
Talks are back on. Both sides sitting down at the National Labor Relations Commission in Sejong right now. Samsung replaced their chief negotiator at the union's request, that's a real concession for moving forward for progress, not a PR move.
The chairman bowed. Lee Jae-yong literally bowed multiple times at Gimpo Airport apologizing to customers for the internal issues. In Korean corporate culture that's the clearest signal yet that Samsung wants this resolved ASAP.
President intervened this morning. PM threatened emergency arbitration yesterday. Court ruled Monday. Chairman bowed Saturday.
Every lever is being pulled in the same direction simultaneously.
Strike still technically starts Thursday. But between the court injunction limiting production impact and every Korean institution pushing for resolution, this looks less like a strike and more like a last minute negotiation with a deadline.
Samsung up 4%+ in Seoul today. The market agrees.