Amid the Rise of Strong Labor Unions, Generational Change in Labor Management... Heads of R&D and Design Also Step Down

Vice Chairman Yoon Yeo-cheol and President Ha Eon-tae Retire
Senior Vice President Jung Sang-bin Takes Charge of Labor Affairs
Major Changes in Labor-Management Relations Expected Next Year

Hyun Yeo-cheol, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Company, is delivering a New Year's address at the 2018 Hyundai Motor Company opening ceremony held at the headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul on January 2, 2018. 2018.1.2.

Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Yoon Yeo-cheol, regarded as a living legend in Hyundai Motor Group's labor affairs, has stepped down. Alongside Yoon, Ha Eon-tae, President of Hyundai Motor's Domestic Production Division, also retired, marking a generational shift in the labor management line. With changes in the labor affairs leadership and Hyundai Motor and Kia unions signaling a return to a hardline stance, significant changes in labor-management relations are expected next year.

On the 17th, Hyundai Motor Group announced that Yoon and Ha, who have led the group's labor affairs since 2022's regular executive reshuffle, would retire. Yoon, born in 1952, joined the company in 1979 and worked for 40 years. He played a crucial role in wage and collective bargaining agreements over the past 13 years since 2008. He was appointed President of Hyundai Motor's Domestic Production Division in 2005 and Vice Chairman in charge of policy development in 2008. In the business world, he is known as a salaryman legend. This effectively dismantled the existing vice-chairman group, once called the representative loyalists of Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo.

Ha, who worked closely with Yoon to coordinate labor-management relations, was appointed Ulsan Plant Manager in early 2018 when labor relations were at their worst and is credited with successfully concluding wage and collective bargaining agreements. He led Hyundai Motor's no-strike achievements over the past three years, was promoted last year to President and CEO of Hyundai Motor's Domestic Production Division, and this year quelled union dissatisfaction by offering a 200% performance bonus plus 3.5 million KRW instead of agreeing to the union's demand for retirement age extension.

Sang-bin Jeong, Executive Director of Hyundai Motor's Policy Development Office, was promoted to Vice President and took charge of labor affairs. Lee Dong-seok, Vice President in charge of Production Support, was appointed as the new President of the Domestic Production Division. Attention is focused on whether they can lead Hyundai Motor and Kia through next year's wage and collective bargaining agreements without disputes. On the 8th, Ahn Hyun-ho, elected as the 9th head of the Hyundai Motor branch of the Metal Workers' Union, pledged key promises including applying full bonuses as ordinary wages, extending retirement age, and preparing employment measures for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Particularly, his "7+7" pledge to change the existing 8-hour workday with a 40-minute meal break to two shifts (day and night) of 7 hours each with a 1-hour paid meal break is expected to cause significant labor-management clashes.

On the same day, the first round of the main vote for the next Kia union branch head election was held. Candidates Hong Jin-seong (No. 1), Jang Su-gwang (No. 2), and Yoon Min-hee (No. 3) all demanded performance bonuses in response to opposition against the recent payment of 5 million KRW performance bonuses to office and research staff with high recent achievements, as well as securing electric vehicle-related production volumes and extending retirement age. Additionally, the introduction of the 7+7 work system, promoted by the Hyundai Motor union, was included as a pledge by candidate Yoon Min-hee. The Kia union plans to hold the second round of voting on the 24th and announce the winner on January 3 next year.

Meanwhile, the heads of research and development (R&D) and design, responsible for Hyundai Motor's future, have also changed. Albert Biermann (65), who launched the high-performance N brand, and Peter Schreyer (69), who established the design identity for Kia and Genesis, stepped down due to age and will transition to advisory roles to share their successful experiences. Biermann's successor as head of R&D will be Park Jung-guk, Deputy Head, who will continue to accelerate performance improvement through integrated product development and future technology development such as electrification and hydrogen. Park has held key roles including Head of Hyundai Motor's Performance Testing Office, Director of the U.S. Technology Research Institute, Head of the Central Research Institute, Director of the Performance Development Center, Executive in charge of testing, Head of R&D Planning and Coordination Office, and CEO of Hyundai Mobis, playing a leading role in eco-friendly and autonomous vehicle fields.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.