Shares of SK Hynix slid 3.6% to ₩1.611.000 on Tuesday after unionized workers rejected a provisional wage agreement reached earlier in the week.
More than 50% of the 15,045 union members voted against the proposed deal, which included a 6.3% wage increase and a shift in profit-sharing bonuses to 40% cash and 60% stock. The rejection follows heightened scrutiny of compensation structures across South Korea’s major chipmakers amid strong AI-driven earnings growth.
The decline in SK Hynix shares mirrored broader pressure on semiconductor stocks, as investors awaited Nvidia’s upcoming earnings report later in the week. Rival Samsung’s measures announced earlier in the week also disappointed markets, contributing to a 3% drop in the KOSPI index on Tuesday. Analysts cited profit-taking and valuation concerns as key drivers of the sector-wide retreat.
