Hyundai Motor union leader Yoon Hae-mo has formally resigned as he said he would do earlier in the week but is not leaving immediately.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Union spokesman Chang Kyu-ho told the Korea Herald Yoon’s resignation was formalised at a meeting of union leaders but he would stay on for now and would continue to lead the union until important issues are resolved, the most pressing of which is whether annual wage negotiations will be headed by the leader of the metal workers union, to which the Hyundai union belongs, or an emergency leadership panel.
Observers said the carmaker’s union was likely to opt for electing new leaders to conclude the negotiations.
This is the first time a union leader has stepped down in the middle of wage negotiations. This year’s negotiations are still in their early stages, and the company and union leaders have so far met nine times.
Chang said Yoon decided to step down because he felt that he had lost confidence in his leadership and that carrying out the wage negotiations under such circumstances would have been difficult. He added that complicated issues concerning disagreements within the union over the new two-shift system also influenced the decision.
Yoon’s resignation was expected to delay this year’s negotiations and according to Chang, Hyundai’s management has already requested that the wages negotiations be delayed, the paper added.
