Hyundai Motor Union Rejects "350% Bonus Plus 10 Million Won" and Launches Partial Strike

Partial Strike Planned for July 13 to 15

The Hyundai Motor Company Labor Union (Hyundai Motor Branch of the Korean Metal Workers' Union) will hold a partial strike from July 13 to 15. This comes after the company presented its third additional wage proposal—which included an increase of 89,000 won in base salary and a performance bonus of 350% plus 10 million won—but the union rejected the offer.

According to industry sources, the union announced during the second Central Dispute Countermeasure Committee meeting held on July 8 that it had decided to strike for two hours each day during this period. Prior to this committee meeting, the union had held the 15th round of negotiations with the company, but after failing to reach an agreement, decided to proceed with the strike.

At the wage negotiation campaign kickoff held on the lawn in front of the main building of Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant on the afternoon of the 13th, Lee Jongchul, the union branch chief, is giving a speech. Photo by Yonhap News.

In the negotiations that day, the company presented its third proposal, which included an increase of 89,000 won in monthly base salary, a performance bonus of 350% plus 10 million won, and the granting of 15 shares of company stock. However, the union rejected the offer, stating that it did not meet the expectations of union members.

The union will begin the two-hour partial strike on July 13, starting with division-level report meetings. On July 14, it will continue the two-hour partial strike, holding district-level report meetings. On July 15, a two-hour partial strike will be held alongside the Korean Metal Workers' Union general strike resolution rally. The sales, maintenance, Namyang, and Mobis committees will adjust their total strike hours according to the situation of each committee.

The union decided to launch the strike in order to pressure the management to make further proposals, but plans to continue negotiations with the company. Therefore, if a new proposal is presented and a tentative agreement is reached, it is possible that the strike will be suspended.

During this year's negotiations, the union and management remain at odds over the scale of wage and bonus increases. The company maintains that its capacity is limited, citing a decline in operating profit last year and weak sales performance in the first half of this year, while the union insists that a real wage increase is necessary in consideration of rising prices.

Meanwhile, on this day, some demands were revised and agreements were reached on specific wording. The two sides agreed that the full-month salary system will continue to be researched and discussed by a joint labor-management task force and negotiated during the 2027 collective bargaining session. Reduction of working hours will also continue to be researched and discussed by the joint task force.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.