Partial Strikes Begin at HD Hyundai's Ulsan Yard for the Fourth Year Running

Contract negotiations for unionised workers at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' shipbuilding operations have stalled, and the Metal Workers' Union branch at the company began a partial strike on 2 September. It is the fourth consecutive year of industrial action at the yard.

The action opened with a seven-hour work stoppage on Wednesday, to be followed by near-daily partial strikes rotating through different operational areas through 10 September. A four-hour strike involving all union members is scheduled for 15 September. The rotating structure is designed to disrupt production without removing the whole workforce at once, which keeps the pressure on delivery schedules while limiting lost pay.

Worker demands include an increase in monthly base pay, a 100 percent increase in bonuses, performance-based rewards representing at least 30 percent of operating profits, and expanded vacation and bonus allowances. Union representatives argue that the workforce absorbed years of industry downturn and has a claim on the returns from the current shipbuilding boom.

The company and the union last settled annual negotiations without a strike in 2022, and before that in 2013. Following a labour dispute filing on 14 August, mediators reported that the parties remained far apart. Union members voted on 28 August, with two thirds authorising strike action. Negotiating sessions have since been accelerated to three times a week from twice, with working-level negotiators also taking part. The union has not indicated whether it will extend the action to other yards, although Mipo members were included in the authorisation vote. Last-minute talks averted a concurrent strike at Hyundai Motors.

The yard is simultaneously under investigation over its safety record after a worker became unconscious while working on boiler machinery. That case is reported to be the sixth worker death at company facilities in 2026, four of them at the Ulsan shipyard, and precautionary measures have suspended some work while the investigation proceeds.

The dispute is running against a strong order book rather than a weak one. The company booked an order for four LPG carriers on 24 August for the Ulsan yard, and HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering has taken orders totalling 162 ships worth more than $18bn in 2026, representing 77.6 percent of its $23.31bn annual target with a third of the year still to run. The competitive backdrop for the group's US ambitions is set out in the race for American naval yards.