Samsung Biologics Files Criminal Complaint Against Striking Union Chair Over Leaked PR Records

TL;DR - Samsung Biologics has filed a criminal complaint accusing its striking union chairman Park Jae-sung of leaking confidential PR-department tax invoice records and defamation, per Yonhap and ETNews on May 13. - The dispute follows the first-ever strike in the company's 15-year history, which Samsung Biologics estimates has cost roughly ₩150 billion ($102 million) in lost output, per FiercePharma. - Watch whether the police investigation widens beyond Park, and whether Korea's government invokes emergency arbitration powers across the broader Samsung-group labor dispute.

Lead

Samsung Biologics (KRX: 207940), one of the world's largest contract drug manufacturers, has filed a criminal complaint against the chairman of its enterprise union, escalating a wage dispute that has now spilled from the picket line into the courts. The company accuses Park Jae-sung of leaking confidential internal tax invoice records belonging to its PR-related department, along with defamation, in what marks the third criminal action it has taken against union representatives since the strike began on May 1.

What Happened

According to Yonhap and ETNews on May 13, Samsung Biologics filed the complaint with the Incheon Yeonsu Police Station, alleging that Park leaked an edited PDF showing tax invoice details belonging to the company's PR-related department. The PDF's author metadata listed "Park Jae-sung," and when the file was reconverted to PowerPoint format, the originating user who had accessed Samsung Biologics' internal accounting system to view the invoice records also appeared as Park Jae-sung, the Asia Business Daily reported separately.

The Sangseong (Win-Win) Branch of the Samsung Group Inter-Company Labor Union — the chapter that organizes Samsung Biologics workers — has staged a step-up campaign since late April, the Asia Business Daily said: a partial walkout from April 28 to 30 involving roughly 60 members, a full-scale strike from May 1 to 5 drawing about 2,800 employees, and a work-to-rule protest from May 6 onward. Park and union officials denied involvement in the leak and offered no separate comment, ETNews reported.

Why It Matters

The criminal filing is an inflection point in what is the first labor strike in Samsung Biologics' 15 years of operation, and the first concrete signal that the dispute has moved beyond pay into a question of internal information governance at one of the world's most strategically important contract drug manufacturers. The Korea Herald reported on May 1 that the walkout was the company's first general strike since founding in 2011; pairing it with a leaked-document criminal case marks a structural break from the consensus image of Samsung Biologics as a strike-free, single-employer culture, and raises the prospect that any settlement will need to address document-handling rules in addition to wages.

Business Impact

Samsung Biologics has put its own estimate of the strike's cost at approximately ₩150 billion ($102 million) in lost output, according to FiercePharma's coverage of the company's disclosures. The enterprise union is demanding a 14% average wage increase, a one-off ₩30 million (about $22,000) per-employee cash incentive, and bonuses equivalent to 20% of operating profit, per Seoul Economic Daily; Samsung Biologics has countered with a 6.2% wage rise, the same outlet reported.

An April 23, 2026 Incheon District Court injunction restricted industrial action in three of the company's nine production stages — concentration and buffer exchange, drug substance filling, and buffer manufacturing and supply — to prevent product spoilage if processes were halted mid-run, the Asia Business Daily reported. On May 8, Samsung Biologics filed a separate criminal complaint with the same Incheon police station against six union members, including Park, accusing them of obstructing operations by failing to staff those court-protected processes, the same outlet said.

Industry & Historical Context

Samsung Biologics, founded in 2011 as the contract development and manufacturing arm of Samsung Group's life-sciences push, had not seen a single strike day prior to this dispute, per Korea Herald reporting. Its enterprise union, organized under the broader Samsung Group Inter-Company Labor Union, sits inside a wider 2026 labor cycle across the Samsung group: the Korea Times reported on May 13 that Samsung Electronics' wage talks have also broken down with a general-strike threat, and Seoul Economic Daily reported the same day that the Korean government is weighing its first emergency arbitration in 21 years over Samsung-related labor disputes.

A prior November 2025 incident referenced in this week's complaint — in which an unauthorized actor accessed shared company folders, after which a settlement allowed union vehicles back on-site, creating what Samsung Biologics has described as a security gap — is being cited by the company as the precursor to the latest leak, the Asia Business Daily said.

What to Watch

• Whether the Incheon Yeonsu Police Station opens a formal investigation into Park, and whether the case widens to other union officers beyond the six already named on May 8.
• The next round of labor-management-government talks following the May 8 session, which the Asia Business Daily reported left "significant differences" between the two sides.
• Any updated production-loss estimate beyond the ₩150 billion ($102 million) figure already shared with media.
• Whether Korea's central government invokes emergency arbitration powers — last used 21 years ago, per Seoul Economic Daily — across the broader Samsung-group dispute.

Sources: - Yonhap News (Korean) — https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20260513079400017 - ETNews (Korean) — https://www.etnews.com/20260513000200 - The Asia Business Daily (English) — https://www.asiae.co.kr/en/article/bio-health/2026051314320960991 - Seoul Economic Daily — https://en.sedaily.com/finance/2026/05/08/samsung-biologics-files-criminal-complaint-against-union-20260508 - FiercePharma — https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/cdmo-samsung-bio-estimates-102m-impact-stemming-ongoing-union-strike

By LineVest Markets Desk — May 13, 2026

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.