Park Byung-kyu once led Kia Motor's union in the city of Gwangju, fighting ...
GWANGJU, South Korea - Park Byung-kyu once led Kia Motor’s union in the city of Gwangju, fighting for labor protections against the powerful, family-run chaebol that dominated the economy during South Korea’s rapid industrialization.
Now, Park is working for the city of Gwangju on a proposed joint venture with Hyundai Motor Co to build a new low-wage car factory, Hyundai’s first new factory in South Korea in 25 years. Employment is a key focus for President Moon Jae-in’s administration as Asia’s fourth-largest economy struggles to create jobs in the face of a slowing China economy, U.S. trade protectionism and increased minimum wages.
The carmaking venture, the first of its kind in South Korea, is the biggest threat to date for legacy unionized auto workers, who have largely maintained high wages and benefits even with youth unemployment near a record high and the economy sluggish, Park said.The proposed Hyundai factory will offer annual wages of 35 million won - just over a third of the average 92 million won that existing Hyundai workers earn, but higher than the average 33 million won salaried workers make in Gwangju.
Kim Jae-seung, who studied business management in college, said he is willing to apply for a blue-collar job at the planned plant. “Its wage is still above the average worker’s wage. In that sense, it is not a bad job. It is a good job,” the 32-year-old Kim said at a recent job fair held at the city hall.
James P. Rooney, an international finance professor at Sogang University in Seoul, said to be successful, the plant should make electric cars. Kim Yong-gu, chief executive of Hyundai Hitech, a Gwangju-based parts supplier for Kia, is hoping the new Hyundai factory will help make up for reduced output at Kia.
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