After Hyundai Motor unveiled Atlas, a humanoid robot ready for factory deployment, at the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026 in the United States, the union immediately pushed back.
Hyundai Motor plans to deploy Atlas at sites including the Meta Plant America (HMGMA) factory in the United States starting in 2028, then expand adoption step by step after verification. In response, the Hyundai Motor union strongly objected, saying, "Not a single unit (of Atlas) can enter (the factory) without a labor-management agreement."
With resistance from the Hyundai Motor union, regarded as the toughest in Korea, the prospect of full-blown labor-management conflict over robot adoption is growing. We examined the legal issues, including whether the remaining workforce can be laid off after robots are brought in, and whether a strike by the union on that basis would be recognized as lawful.
◇ Key to layoffs is proving "urgent managerial necessity"
The Hyundai Motor chapter of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) Metal Workers' Union said in a bulletin on the 22nd, "Overseas volume transfer and the introduction of new technology (robot automation) are one-way streets without labor-management agreement," adding, "We will never tolerate it."
Atlas, developed by Hyundai Motor's robotics affiliate Boston Dynamics, is estimated to cost about 2 billion won per unit, with annual maintenance at around 14 million won. It can operate 24 hours a day, so compared with Hyundai Motor production workers, whose average annual salary exceeds 100 million won and who face constraints on working hours, it is seen as having strong cost competitiveness.
Kim Pil-soo, a professor in the future automotive department at Daelim University, said, "Production workers' annual pay already exceeds 100 million won, and hardline unions force annual wage and collective bargaining talks to repeat," adding, "If the labor cost structure is not reformed, competitiveness in the global market will inevitably be lost."
However, introducing robots will not easily lead directly to workforce cuts. The Labor Standards Act requires "urgent managerial necessity" as a condition for layoffs. According to Supreme Court precedent, this is not a matter of simple expense reduction; it must be proven that business deterioration has accumulated to a level where, absent downsizing, the corporation's survival is at risk, and that this state will be difficult to resolve in the future.
Labor attorney Park Jin-ho of Hansu Labor Law Firm said, "For example, if all automakers have reduced production costs to one-thirtieth by adopting robots, but only Hyundai Motor maintains its workforce so that its expense is 30 times higher, there is room to recognize urgency," adding, "But if performance is sound, it would be difficult to justify layoffs based solely on robot adoption."
◇ Yellow envelope law takes effect… "managerial decisions" also subject to strikes
If the union goes on strike to oppose robot adoption, the likelihood it will be recognized as a legal strike has increased compared with the past. That is because the revised Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, known as the yellow envelope law, will take effect starting Mar. 10.
The revised law specifies as a subject of labor disputes "cases where labor and management disagree over a business managerial decision that affects working conditions." Lawyer Jeong Sang-tae of Barun Law said, "Previously, layoffs themselves were considered a managerial judgment and thus not subject to strikes, but after the revised law takes effect, if layoffs are pursued, the union will be able to strike."
Experts point to gradual workforce adjustment as a practical response corporations can choose. Park said, "It will likely be inevitable to reduce new hiring after mandatory retirement, or to design jobs that coexist with robots through job transitions and reassignments."
◇ Robot adoption in Korea is three times faster… "a humanoid law is needed"
The pace of robot adoption on Korean industrial sites is accelerating to the world's highest level. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), as of 2022, Korea's industrial robot density was 1,012 units per 10,000 workers, far exceeding Germany (415) and Japan (397) by more than double.
Across key manufacturing sectors such as automobiles, steel, shipbuilding, and logistics, the adoption of robots and automation systems has already become routine. Field work that traditionally relied heavily on labor is also being rapidly automated for productivity gains and enhanced safety. However, as robots spread, changes in employment structures and labor-management conflicts are also recurring.
Since the Serious Accidents Punishment Act took effect, the steel industry has expanded robot deployment around high-risk processes. POSCO has introduced automation robots to the coating process at the Gwangyang steelworks since 2020, and has deployed quadruped robots to inspect 1,200-degree blast furnace tuyeres. Hyundai Steel is also using AI-based quadruped robots to perform hazardous tasks such as opening and closing gas valves and monitoring for fires and explosions.
The shipbuilding industry is also accelerating automation. Hanwha Ocean plans to invest 300 billion won by 2030 to raise its automation rate to 70%, and HD Hyundai Samho and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering are either massively deploying robots to welding processes or preparing to introduce mobile welding robots.
As robot use spreads rapidly, concerns are growing over gaps in the system. A labor official said, "The current legal framework is designed on the premise of human beings, so a Humanoid Robot law that encompasses the definition and scope of responsibility for humanoid robots is needed," adding, "We must establish labor policies that can coexist with robots, such as job retention and job development."