[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] A hardline candidate was elected in the Hyundai Motor Union Branch Chief election. It is anticipated that labor-management relations at Hyundai Motor next year will face more difficulties than this year.
According to the Hyundai Motor Union on the 8th, candidate number 4, Ahn Hyun-ho, was elected as the 9th executive (branch chief) of the Metal Workers' Union Hyundai Motor Branch in the vote count of the election held the previous day.
Out of a total of 48,749 union members, 41,444 (voter turnout 85.02%) participated in this runoff vote, where candidate Ahn received 22,101 votes (53.33%), defeating candidate number 2, Kwon Oh-il, who received 19,122 votes (46.14%), and was elected as the next branch chief.
In the first round of voting held on the 2nd, Ahn also advanced to the runoff as the top candidate. The current union branch chief, Lee Sang-soo, who led three consecutive years of labor-management agreements without disputes, ran as candidate number 1 but lost in the vote count. The new branch chief's term will begin on January 1 of next year and last for two years.
Candidate Ahn is classified as a hardliner. He was the chief deputy chairman of the 'Metal Solidarity' and led the 1998 Hyundai Motor mass layoff opposition struggle and general strike.
In this election, he pledged to build a strong union through promises such as applying full bonuses as ordinary wages, improving treatment for general and female union members, and preparing employment measures for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, signaling conflicts with the company.
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