Samsung Biologics has won an appeals court ruling banning industrial action across all nine core drug substance manufacturing processes at its Songdo campus in Incheon, South Korea, just days before a second strike was due to begin.
The Seoul High Court ruled on Friday that the processes are protected work needed to prevent the deterioration or spoilage of raw materials and products.
During any industrial action, operations must continue at the same staffing levels, working hours, production scale and duty of care as normal.
The ruling covers flask culture, bioreactor culture, harvest, media preparation and supply, chromatography, viral filtration, concentration and buffer exchange, drug substance filling, as well as buffer preparation and supply.
Speaking to Manufacturing Chemist, a spokesperson for Samsung Biologics said: "The court confirmed that our nine core drug substance processes must run at normal staffing, operating hours, production scale and standards of care during any industrial action."
Cell culture uses living cells that cannot be paused and an interruption can mean losing a batch, not delaying it.
Expanded from three stages
The decision overturns a lower-court ruling: in April, the Incheon District Court granted the injunction only for the final three processes, rejecting the application for the earlier culture-stage processes.
The appeals court has now expanded the injunction to cover all nine processes sought by Samsung Biologics and granted its request for indirect enforcement.
Under that order, the union must pay 20m won (about $13,100) for each injunction violation.
The court classified the processes as work necessary to prevent deterioration and spoilage of raw materials and products. It also considered the potential losses a production halt would cause and wider impacts such as supply disruption for treatments with no substitutes.
Background to the dispute
The union has around 4000 members, about 73% of the company’s 5455 employees.
Wage and collective bargaining talks broke down in March and the union staged a partial strike in late April, then a full strike for five days in May.
The Korea Herald reported that the company suffered roughly 150bn won ($102m) in sales losses and production disruption during that walkout.
The union had resolved to hold a three-week second strike from 26 October, demanding a 15% base salary increase and a 15% share of operating profit — though this has now been postponed after the court's injunction ruling.
The company says those demands are unacceptable and has instead proposed a 6.2% wage rise.
Why continuity matters in biologics
Biologics production relies on living cells and time-sensitive steps. If a problem occurs at even one stage, an entire batch may have to be discarded.
That is a particular concern for the CDMO — Samsung Biologics has a combined 845,000 litres of capacity across Korea and the US, so any disruption has the potential to affect a large number of clients’ programmes.
Union response
The union said it would appeal the court's decision.
Although it now faces major hurdles, union leadership stressed that it had not abandoned the October 26th strike altogether, instead saying it will review the strike schedule. However, it did cancel a planned rally that was due to be held on Wednesday.
Beyond wage talks, the union has also reportedly demanded collective bargaining with the company's second-largest shareholder, Samsung Electronics and has petitioned regulators (Korea Exchange and Financial Services Commission) regarding the company's capital increase.
Samsung Biologics said it would continue working with the union to reach an agreement.
“Biologics manufacturing depends on living cells and time-sensitive steps that cannot be paused without risking the medicines patients rely on,” the representative said.
"Our continuity plans cover each client's batches, deliveries and staffing and clients are told directly if anything changes."
Ensuring uninterrupted operational continuity for our clients' programmes is our top priority. We will continue to engage in dialogue with the union toward an amicable resolution, while remaining focused on safeguarding product quality, production timelines and client commitments.
