[Chodong's Perspective] The Casper's Success... Don't Kill the Goose That Lays the Golden Eggs

The Casper, a compact car that Hyundai Motor Company introduced in 2021 for the first time in 19 years since the Atos, was described by one driver's wife?who did not even have a license?as the car that made her want to learn how to drive. Once forgotten under the impression that all compact cars were similar, the Casper has quickly become a popular model that is now easily spotted on the roads. With its affordable price and distinctive design, it has successfully established itself in South Korea, a country once considered barren ground for compact cars.

The momentum continued last year when Hyundai launched the electric version of the Casper, and its popularity has carried into this year. From January to April 2025, 3,215 units of the Casper Electric were sold domestically. It ranked second in Hyundai's electric vehicle sales, following the IONIQ 5 (4,125 units). The Casper Electric alone accounted for 18% of Hyundai's total electric vehicle sales.

Given the contraction in domestic new car demand due to the economic downturn, these results are considered remarkable. Due to its high popularity, some models now require customers to wait up to 22 months from contract to delivery. In the used car market, the Casper is also considered a "hot item." While it typically takes just over a month to purchase and sell a used car, the average sales period for the Casper is only 16 days. It is said to sell almost as soon as it appears on the market.

The Casper's popularity shows no signs of waning overseas either. In the first quarter of this year, 11,836 units of the Casper Electric were exported, a 37% increase compared to the fourth quarter of last year (8,646 units). Furthermore, at the 2025 World Car Awards held at the New York International Auto Show last month, the Casper Electric was named "World Electric Car of the Year," surpassing premium models such as the Porsche Macan Electric.

Despite the Casper's continued success both domestically and internationally, dark clouds still hang over Gwangju Global Motors (GGM), the company that manufactures the Casper. Labor-management conflict, which began last year, remains unresolved. In October 2024, the union demanded a 7% increase in monthly wages, the introduction of a seniority-based pay system, a 300% bonus, and guarantees for free union activities during wage and collective bargaining negotiations with management. However, after management rejected these demands, the union launched industrial action. The Gwangju Labor-Management-Civic-Government Special Mediation Committee, composed of experts, proposed a mediation plan after three months of deliberation, but the union rejected this as well and recently announced plans for protests in Seoul and additional strikes. The union is particularly opposed to the mediation plan's provision that strikes must be suspended until cumulative production reaches 350,000 units, arguing that it infringes on constitutional rights.

Even if the union's constitutional challenge is legitimate, it cannot escape criticism that it is undermining its own foundation. Established in 2019 as the first "Gwangju-type job" factory, this plant was founded through a social agreement based on the "Labor-Management Win-Win Development Agreement," which stipulated appropriate wages and a no-union management policy. Now, six years later, the union itself is dismantling this agreement and eroding trust.

Korea's manufacturing sector is facing a major transformation as it loses ground to latecomers such as China. Uncertainties are growing due to the restructuring of global supply chains and trade pressures from the United States. If labor-management conflict disrupts the original goal of reaching 350,000 units, it could threaten not only profitability but also the very survival of the company.

Gwangju Global Motors took its first step onto the global stage with the Casper and could have become a symbol of manufacturing revival based on social consensus. However, if principles are abandoned, it will only result in "killing the goose that lays the golden eggs." Excessive demands driven by short-term interests and politicized struggles are pushing the entire regional industrial ecosystem into crisis, and this reality must be squarely faced.