On August 24, the Hyundai Motor Union reached a tentative agreement with management on the 2026 wage negotiations. A ratification vote by union members is scheduled for Monday, August 31. The tentative agreement includes a 100,000 won increase in base pay (including step-up raises), a performance bonus of 400 percent plus 12.7 million won, 15 shares of stock, 500,000 won in welfare points, and a 200,000 won summer vacation allowance. Union leadership emphasized the achievement, stating that they “realized a fair distribution of profits in the range of 40 million won” even as management “sought to reduce workers’ share, citing a difficult business environment.” However, this tentative agreement falls short of union members’ expectations. The wage increase proposal is significantly lower than the union’s initial demands (a 149,600 won increase in base pay and a performance bonus equivalent to 30 percent of net profit) and is also lower than last year’s offer. While last year’s base pay increase was 100,000 won—the same as this year—the performance bonus was 450 percent plus 15.8 million won, along with 30 shares of stock, which was more than this year’s offer. Launch ceremony for the Central Strike Response Committee to secure victory in the 2026 collective bargaining struggle, held at the Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant on June 30. © Ahn Woo-chun This year, Hyundai Motor workers have spent nearly four times as many hours on strike compared to last year. Since the “no work, no pay” principle applies during strikes, wage losses have been substantial. Nevertheless, there is considerable dissatisfaction among workers who have been presented with a wage increase proposal that is even lower than last year’s. In addition, the 50 percent bonus increase separately demanded by the union will be renegotiated in next year’s talks. Many workers had hoped that a bonus increase would definitely be implemented this year. This is because an increase in bonuses—which are included in regular wages—leads to a corresponding rise in severance pay and various allowances. With the bonus discussion postponed until next year, the pro-management newspaper *The Korea Economic Daily* reported that Hyundai Motor’s management was relieved, stating that this would “ease their burden.” The union leadership, meanwhile, highlights as a major achievement the fact that management has agreed to withdraw all 10 claims for damages and provisional attachments (totaling 21.37 billion won) it had filed. Of course, this is a great relief for those who have suffered from these damage claims and provisional attachments. However, the four laid-off workers—who were also affected by these claims—were unable to realize their dream of reinstatement this year either. Measures to address job insecurity caused by AI, robots, and automation are also lacking in substance. A worker serving as a shop steward at Plant 3 described the mood among union members as follows: “There’s a lot of dissatisfaction among members, who feel we haven’t secured a single meaningful achievement. Even issues like the reinstatement of laid-off workers—which the branch chairman promised in no uncertain terms—have not been resolved.” Most of the opinion groups within the Hyundai Motor plant have published newsletters criticizing this tentative agreement and calling for its rejection. This demonstrates that workers’ dissatisfaction with the tentative agreement is significant. Ripple Effect This year’s Hyundai Motor wage and collective bargaining negotiations took place amid the ripple effects of the struggle for performance-based pay increases launched by Samsung Electronics workers. Over the past few years, the Hyundai Motor Group has consistently posted massive profits exceeding 10 trillion won, and its retained earnings have accumulated to over 100 trillion won. All of this is the result of the hard work of Hyundai Motor workers. However, the fruits of that labor have not been returned to the workers. This time, Hyundai Motor workers had high expectations of securing a performance bonus equivalent to “30 percent of 2025 net profit.” Furthermore, with variable pay accounting for nearly 50 percent of their total compensation—forcing them to work overtime and on special shifts—they hoped for a substantial increase in base pay and a 50 percent raise in bonuses to achieve a relatively stable wage increase. They also hoped that their job insecurity stemming from AI, robots, and automation would be alleviated to some extent. It is entirely justified that workers demanded wage increases commensurate with the company’s massive profits, as well as job security. However, management was unwilling to make concessions easily. Hyundai Motor’s management intends to respond to the intensifying global competition in the automotive industry by continuing to make massive investments in AI, robotics, and automation—while workers’ interests are pushed to the back burner. Management did not want to set a “precedent” of yielding to pressure from workers’ actions. Hyundai Motor CEO Choi Young-il revealed his true feelings, stating, “If we set a precedent of giving in under the pressure of a strike, the same situation will repeat itself in future negotiations.” The pro-business stance of the Lee Jae-myung administration likely also worked in Hyundai Motor management’s favor. The Lee Jae-myung administration sided with management, criticizing workers’ demands for higher performance-based bonuses by asking, “Is this even a valid subject for labor disputes?” Pro-management media outlets also intensified pressure on the government to take measures to prevent the workers’ struggle for wage increases from spreading further. To secure the workers’ legitimate demands against Hyundai Motor’s management—which was unwilling to make concessions easily—a more resolute and bold struggle was necessary. However, the Hyundai Motor Union leadership continued to hold partial strikes lasting 2, 4, or 6 hours instead of a full-scale strike, and even these were carried out in a stop-and-go manner. On days when negotiations were scheduled, they even postponed planned strike actions. Even if they had conducted negotiations while carrying out a powerful strike—which was already a question of whether it would be feasible—canceling the existing strike plans meant management was unlikely to feel significant pressure. Of course, they did hold a one-day general strike for the first time in ten years, which caused some production disruptions and losses. However, this did not deal a blow to profits severe enough to force management to back down. Among the workers, comments like, “Will management really feel any pressure from this?” began to circulate. By failing to concentrate the workers’ strength to deal a blow to profits and instead allowing the process to drag on, the workers themselves ended up bearing the burden of lost wages and other costs. Immediately after the vacation period, management even published a pamphlet to exploit this point and sow discord among the workers. It is self-contradictory for the union leadership to sign an inadequate tentative agreement while claiming, “We felt burdened by the strike dragging on.” Not long ago, production workers at SK Hynix rejected a tentative agreement for the 2026 wage collective bargaining agreement because they opposed the performance-based bonus payment method. It is only natural that voices calling for the rejection of the tentative agreement are emerging among Hyundai Motor Union members.