Among the five completed vehicle manufacturers, the four companies, excluding Renault Korea, have entered the summer vacation period without achieving significant results in wage and collective bargaining negotiations. Each company's labor union plans to regroup during the vacation period next week and push management starting in August. The labor and management of Renault Korea have reached a provisional agreement on wage increases.
The GM Korea union opposes the company's plan to sell part of the land at the Bupyeong plant and nine direct service centers nationwide, and demands a wage increase based on last year's profits and performance bonuses. After about 10 rounds of negotiations with management, the GM Korea union began partial strikes on the 10th as their positions remained divergent.
The GM Korea union has warned of a strong struggle after the summer vacation. The union noted through the "25 Employment Committee update" that "at this point, it is almost the same as management urging the union to intensify the struggle level. If they wish, it's reasonable to expect something in August."
The Hyundai Motor union is also preparing to increase its aggressive stance after August. The labor and management of Hyundai Motor confirmed only their differences until the 12th round of negotiations. The union demanded the extension of the application of various allowances to regular wages and the extension of the retirement age, but management has stated that vacation and holiday support funds along with overtime pay do not meet the regular wage requirements. They suggested waiting to see the government's movements regarding the retirement age extension.
Hyundai Motor will close its factory for summer vacation from the 25th to the 3rd of August. Labor and management will continue negotiations from the 5th. Kia and KG Mobility also failed to achieve clear results in labor negotiations.
There is also a view that the widening gap between labor and management has increased the likelihood of summer struggle, led by the GM Korea union. This is because it is difficult to meet all of the union's demands in the face of risks such as U.S. tariffs and a slowdown in electric vehicle demand.
Hyundai Motor and Kia set records for six and four consecutive years of non-conflict labor negotiations, respectively, until last year, and there is interest in whether they can continue this record of non-conflict this year. KG Mobility successfully concluded negotiations without conflicts for 15 consecutive years until last year.