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Employment Relations in the Korean Automotive Industry: Issues and Policy Implications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Young-Bum Park ,
Byoung-Hoon Lee  and
Seog-Hun Woo
Young-Bum Park
Affiliation:
Hansueng University
Byoung-Hoon Lee
Affiliation:
Korea Labor Institute
Seog-Hun Woo
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
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Abstract

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Since the late 1980s there have been significant problems in the Korean auto industry related to employment relations. This paper focusses on the experience of three companies: Hyundai, Daewoo and Kia, which have pursued somewhat different strategies in industrial relations and human resource management. Hyundai, which is the largest auto producer, has experienced major labour disputes almost every year since 1987, but has reached an accommodation with its union in the past couple of years. Daewoo and Kia have both faced militant union leadership since the early 1990s. Kia’s management was rather indecisive, but Daewoo was more decisive and industrial relations appear to have stabilised. However, major industrial conflicts at the end of 1996, following the government’s attempt to reform labour laws, and the formation of a new independent peak union council, indicate that industrial relations in the Korean auto industry are likely to remain unsettled for some time.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , December 1997 , pp. 248 - 268
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1997

Footnotes

*

We appreciate the valuable comments of Professor Harry Katz, Professor Russell Lansbury, Professor Michael Schumann and Professor Mitsuo Ishida.

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