Is Hyundai Card suppressing union activities?

Hyundai Card headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times file

By Park Jae-hyuk

Hyundai Card's management has failed to resolve lingering conflicts with its union despite continuous negotiations which began in February when the latter was organized under the auspices of the Korean Finance & Service Workers' Union (KFSU).

While the union has alleged the management is attempting to control union activities through stricter company regulations, the firm has denied the claim, saying the rules were not specifically aimed at union members.

“All our employees are subject to the regulations,” a Hyundai Card spokesman said.

According to the Hyundai Card union, Monday, the internal rules allow the management to punish workers if they hold rallies, give speeches or wear ribbons, armbands or headbands without permission.

Those who distribute “rebellious” leaflets can also face punishment. In addition, the company can cite “rebellious thoughts” and “bad conduct” as reasons to refuse to hire a particular jobseeker.

If an employee files a civil lawsuit against the CEO, the company is able to suspend the plaintiff.

“Those rules remind us of the military dictatorship in the 1980s,” the union leader said.

The union also complained of the company's code of ethics revised in August because it bans individual employees from responding to the press without following the PR department's guidelines.

According to the union, Hyundai Motor Group's other financial subsidiaries ― Hyundai Capital and Hyundai Commercial ― are also facing similar restrictions as all of them are under the leadership of Vice Chairman Chung Tae-young.

The Hyundai Capital union was organized in September last year. Hyundai Commercial workers formed their union around the same time as the Hyundai Card union was established in February.

Back then, the KFSU cited forced resignations and unfair transfers as reasons to launch the unions. According to the umbrella union, Hyundai Card has dismissed over 500 workers home since late 2018 by carrying out reshuffles, closing seven marketing centers nationwide and urging several workers to resign.

Given the card issuer is seeking to go public by the end of next year, the company is expected to face growing pressure from its investors who want to avoid possible risks caused by labor-management disputes.

The card firm announced last year it would launch an initial public offering (IPO). According to industry officials, it hired NH Investment & Securities and Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities as the lead underwriters.

Its planned IPO has been regarded as a countermeasure to investors' possibly withdrawing their investments.

In 2017, Affinity Equity Partners formed a consortium with GIC and AlpInvest Partners to acquire a 24 percent stake in Hyundai Card from General Electric for 370 billion won ($318 million). At that time, Hyundai Motor Group reportedly promised the consortium that it would list Hyundai Card by January 2020.

Due to COVID-19, however, the IPO will likely be in 2021 at the earliest.

If Hyundai Card successfully goes public, it will be the second card firm listed on the Korean stock market, following Samsung Card which was listed on the benchmark KOSPI in 2007.