Hyundai Auto Workers to Launch Full-Scale Strike After 10 Years

Due to a deadlock in wage negotiations, the Hyundai Motor union plans to hold an eight-hour full-scale strike on May 21. This will mark the first full strike by the union in ten years, since the 2016 labor-management talks. On May 18, labor and management held their 16th round of negotiations at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant—the first talks in 41 days—but failed to reach an agreement. Following this, the union confirmed a new strike schedule: four-hour partial strikes each day from May 19–20 and May 24–25, followed by an eight-hour full strike on May 21. Additionally, union leaders will stage a protest at the company’s headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, on the day of the full strike. The key points of contention between labor and management center on three issues: increasing bonuses, reinstating workers dismissed for illegal union activities, and raising the retirement age. Hyundai Motor stated that these issues fall outside the scope of this year’s wage negotiations, asserting that legally dismissed employees have no grounds for reinstatement and that any change to the retirement age should first be addressed through political channels, such as the National Assembly of Korea. As of May 14, the union has already conducted multiple partial strikes this year, totaling 44 hours of work stoppages.