Hyundai Motor union members hold a rally in front of the main building of the automaker's Ulsan plant on May 13, calling for their demands to be met in the 2026 collective bargaining negotiations.HYUNDAI MOTOR LABOR UNION
Labor unrest is spreading beyond the manufacturing sector in Ulsan, the country’s industrial heartland, as unions stage or threaten strikes across the auto, shipbuilding and public transportation industries over issues including higher wages, extended retirement ages and stronger job security.
Hyundai Motor's union has launched its first full-scale strike in a decade, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' union is moving toward a strike of its own and city bus workers are threatening a general strike.
The HD Hyundai Heavy Industries union will hold a strike vote among all members from 6:30 a.m. Tuesday through 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The union applied for mediation of its labor dispute with the National Labor Relations Commission on Aug. 14 and formed a strike committee. The commission ended mediation proceedings Monday without an agreement, clearing the way for the union to legally strike if members approve the action.
The union and management held 15 rounds of wage and collective bargaining negotiations between their first meeting on June 2 and July 21 but failed to reach an agreement.
The union is demanding a 149,600 won ($108) increase in monthly base pay, excluding a 35,000 won seniority-based raise; a 100 percentage point increase in bonuses; and profit sharing equivalent to 30 percent of the company's operating profit.
"The company is simply dragging out the process without making a responsible offer," the union said in a recent newsletter. "We will begin the process of taking industrial action to change the company's approach to negotiations."
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries union members hold a rally at the company's Ulsan shipyard in June to launch their campaign for wage and collective bargaining negotiations.HD HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES LABOR UNION
Strikes are already in full swing in the auto industry. Unions at auto-related workplaces, including Hyundai Motor and the Ulsan branch of Hyundai Glovis, staged a joint strike last Thursday and Friday and plan to strike again on Tuesday.
The Hyundai Motor union had staged partial strikes lasting between two and six hours since July 13 before launching its first full-scale strike in a decade on Friday. The union is set to hold a strike committee meeting Wednesday to decide whether to take further action.
The main sticking points between Hyundai Motor and its union are wages, bonuses and the retirement age. The company has made a third offer that includes an 89,000 won increase in monthly base pay, a performance bonus equivalent to 350 percent of monthly pay plus 10 million won and 15 company shares, but the union rejected it.
The union is demanding a 149,600 won increase in monthly base pay, excluding the seniority-based raise; a performance bonus equivalent to 30 percent of the company's net profit; and an increase in the regular bonus from 750 percent to 800 percent.
The two sides also remain far apart over the retirement age. Hyundai Motor's retirement age is currently 60, after which employees can work for one additional year under a skilled-worker reemployment program on fixed-term contracts.
The union wants the retirement age raised to as high as 65 to align it with the age at which workers become eligible for the national pension. It is also demanding the reinstatement of union members who were dismissed for illegal acts committed during past union activities.
The company maintains that an increase in the retirement age is an issue to be discussed after relevant legislation is enacted. It also says it cannot accept the demand to reinstate dismissed workers because courts have ruled that the dismissals were justified.
Hyundai Motor union members hold a rally in front of the main building of the automaker's Ulsan plant in June to mark the launch of their strike committee.HYUNDAI MOTOR LABOR UNION
The Hyundai Glovis union is demanding job guarantees in connection with the reconstruction of Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant and the reorganization of its production lines, as well as direct negotiations with the principal contractor.
The labor disputes have also spread to Ulsan's city bus system, a key mode of transportation for residents. The Ulsan bus union has warned that it will halt all bus services from the first run on Friday if it fails to reach an agreement with management by Thursday.
The union applied for labor dispute mediation with the Ulsan Regional Labor Relations Commission on Aug. 12 and is holding a strike vote through Tuesday. If the strike goes ahead, more than 700 city buses in Ulsan are expected to stop operating.
The bus union is demanding a 9 percent increase in the base hourly wage, an extension of the retirement age from 63 to 65 and overtime pay. Management has offered a 2 percent increase in the base hourly wage.
Ulsan has a high concentration of unions at major manufacturing plants and their suppliers. As of 2024, the city was home to 221 unions affiliated with umbrella labor organizations, including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
