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The cost-cutting move is the latest by Samsung
Electronics, which in January reported its first annual profit
decline since 2011, as it lost market share to Apple Inc's new
iPhones and cheaper Chinese rivals like Xiaomi Inc.
The wage freeze also comes as the electronics giant is widely
expected to unveil its next Galaxy S smartphone at a March 1
event, hoping to revive sales growth momentum.
Samsung Electronics had already frozen 2015 wages for executives
as part of belt-tightening measures, a company spokeswoman said,
confirming media reports.
"The measures are likely to inject a sense of crisis into
employees, who have enjoyed steady wage increases and hefty
bonuses in recent years," said Chang Sea-Jin, a business
professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
and author of the book "Sony vs Samsung".
A Samsung spokesman did not elaborate on the reasons for the
wage freeze. The company last froze wages in 2009, in the wake
of the global financial crisis.
Samsung Electronics has 93,928 employees in South Korea as of
2013.
Robert Yi, Samsung's head of investor relations, signaled
earlier this month that the firm may cut dividends in 2015 after
it hiked its payout by 40 percent and bought back stocks last
year.
Samsung Electronics shares ended down 0.3 percent while the
wider market was up 0.1 percent as of 0613 GMT (0113 ET).
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Tony Munroe and Stephen
Coates)
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