LS Cable & System is heading toward its first strike since its union was established 37 years ago, with partial stoppages planned for the Gumi, Indong and Donghae plants on the 16th. The union, under the Federation of Korean Metal Workers' Unions and affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, says compensation has not kept pace with earnings driven by demand for cables and bus ducts used in artificial-intelligence data centers. Gumi and Indong workers plan one-hour stoppages, while Donghae workers will hold either full-day or one-hour stoppages depending on shifts, with participation expected to number in the hundreds. The union secured the legal right to strike after mediation was suspended on the 3rd of this month, following a breakdown in the ninth wage-negotiation round on the 11th of last month. LS Cable reported first-half revenue of ₩4.5232 trillion and operating profit of ₩238.4 billion, up 18% and 44% year over year, while its order backlog reached a record ₩7.8336 trillion. Management says its 5.3% operating margin, raw-material costs and more than ₩2 trillion of expansion investment limit its ability to raise pay aggressively. A prolonged dispute could disrupt production and deliveries as power-equipment companies compete for global orders.