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Hyundai union votes on potential strike for higher wages

Published: 25 Aug. 2025, 11:57 Updated: 25 Aug. 2025, 14:42

Members of Hyundai Motor's labor union hold a press conference at the union offices inside the company's Ulsan plant on Aug. 18. [NEWS1]

Unionized workers of Hyundai Motor began hitting the polls Monday to decide whether to stage a strike amid stalled wage negotiations.

The labor union said the vote began at 8 a.m. and will end at 5 p.m., with the outcome of the electronic vote to be released immediately after its closure.

The union and management have held 17 rounds of wage talks this year but have yet to narrow their differences over the union's demand for higher wages and performance-based bonuses.

The union is demanding a 141,300 won ($102) increase in the monthly base pay per worker and 30 percent of Hyundai's annual net profit to be distributed as performance-based pay.

The union is also calling for bonuses worth nine months of salary per worker, up from the current seven and a half months, as well as raising the retirement age from 60 to 64.

Hyundai Motor's net income rose 7.8 percent on year to 13.22 trillion won in 2024.

The union said it decided to hold a vote after management failed to present its own proposals.

Should more than half of union members vote in favor of a strike, the 42,000-member union will secure the legal right to stage a walkout, though many believe it is unlikely that it will lead to an actual strike in the immediate future.

The strike vote comes as the auto industry faces newly imposed 15 percent U.S. tariffs on vehicle exports that took effect this month.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung is in Washington as part of Korea's business delegation for a high-stakes summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday.

It remains unclear whether Korean companies will unveil additional U.S. investment plans during the summit.

Yonhap