Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
Hyundai Motor, Kia, GM Korea on verge of strike amid faltering wage talks
Union workers from Hyundai Motor stage a rally at its key production line in the southeastern city of Ulsan, May 13. Yonhap
By Lee Min-hyung
Carmakers fear large-scale production disruptions
Hyundai Motor, Kia and General Motors (GM) Korea are edging closer to labor action amid their stalled wage negotiations, sparking concerns over production disruptions that could cost hundreds of billions of won.
Hyundai Motor's union will stage a two-hour partial strike each day starting Monday, as it failed to find a breakthrough in its wage negotiation with the carmaker’s management.
Unionized workers from the automaker are demanding management provide a performance bonus equivalent to 30 percent of the firm’s net profit last year — a figure seen by its management as highly excessive, as the carmaker suffered a net profit fall of more than 20 percent in 2025 in the aftermath of U.S.-imposed auto tariffs.
This year’s negotiations have also stalled over a new contentious issue: manufacturing automation driven by advances in physical artificial intelligence (AI).
Earlier this year, Hyundai Motor Group shared plans to gradually deploy Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robots across major production facilities in Korea and overseas, prompting strong opposition from the union.
In response, the union added a demand for guarantees on employment security and working conditions related to AI to this year's wage negotiations.
“This year’s negotiation has become significantly more complicated with the addition of such broader demands on the AI-related employment guarantees, making early settlement tougher than before,” an official from the auto industry said.
GM Korea's union workers hold a protest at its manufacturing facility in Bupyeong District, Incheon, in this undated file photo. Yonhap
GM Korea's union is also preparing to step up pressure after securing legal strike rights. The union said it will refuse early-morning shifts, overtime and weekend work starting Monday, citing management’s failure to make meaningful concessions in wage negotiations.
The union is seeking a 149,600 won ($99.50) monthly base salary increase, a performance bonus of roughly 30 million won and commitments to allocate new vehicle production to the company's domestic plants.
GM Korea management's initial proposal included a 75,000 won increase in monthly base pay and a 10 million won performance bonus. However, it omitted issues related to future vehicle production — a key demand from the union.
There stands a possibility that unionized workers from the carmaker could also engage in a full-scale strike, as both sides do not appear close to finding middle ground in the short term due to their starkly differing positions.
Kia's wage negotiations have also progressed slowly. The company and its union have completed five rounds of talks, but differences remain substantial. Similar to Hyundai Motor's union, Kia's labor union is demanding a performance bonus equivalent to 30 percent of the company's operating profit last year, making a near-term settlement increasingly difficult.