HD Hyundai Heavy workers reject wage deal, forcing new talks

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and its labor union prepared to resume contract talks on Oct. 8, 2026 after workers rejected a tentative wage settlement reached late last month.

The union confirmed the tally on Oct. 2, 2026, when 3,932 of 7,541 voting members, or 52.14%, cast ballots against the agreement. A total of 3,588 workers voted in favor.

The turnout reached 93.10% across the union's 8,100 members. The rejection marks the 11th consecutive year since 2016 that union members defeated a first tentative wage pact at the shipbuilder.

The defeated agreement carried a total compensation package valued by the company at 40.56 million won ($30,129) per worker. That package represented the largest total compensation offer in the company's operating history.

The package included a fixed monthly base pay raise of 120,000 won ($89), which incorporated a 50,000 won seniority-based step increase. Fixed pay remained the central dispute during four months of discussions.

The agreement also offered 11 million won in lump-sum cash payments. That sum combined a 5 million won industrial transition bonus, a 3 million won productivity bonus, a 2 million won partnership bonus and 1 million won in vouchers.

Management also offered an incentive payment equal to 200% of agreed wages to support order competitiveness. Standard performance bonuses were set under existing wage formulas for workers active on Dec. 31.

Negotiators reached that preliminary pact on Sept. 30 during their 22nd formal bargaining session at the Ulsan shipyard. The session ran through 14 hours of overnight discussions before union negotiators signed the draft.

Union members withheld support because the basic wage increase trailed peer benchmarks. Rival shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries concluded wage talks earlier this year with a monthly base pay increase of 131,786 won.

Samsung Heavy Industries also paid a 7 million won encouragement bonus and performance incentives funded by 10% of operating profit. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries workers demanded larger permanent pay adjustments rather than variable bonuses.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said on Oct. 2 that it regretted the vote outcome. The company said it offered industry-leading terms and will seek solutions that balance rewards with long-term cost competitiveness.

The union held seven rounds of partial walkouts between Sept. 11 and Sept. 18 to press management before the preliminary deal. Those partial walkouts totaled 37 hours of production stoppages across the yard.

The Ulsan shipyard builds high-value liquefied natural gas carriers, very large ammonia carriers and commercial container vessels. The facility operates nine drydocks and employs thousands of production personnel.

Industrial action in the autumn introduces operating friction during peak delivery quarters. The company's parent entity, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, booked 162 vessel orders valued at over $18 billion through August.

The parent company achieved 77.6% of its $23.31 billion annual order target before the contract dispute stalled in September. Shipowners monitor Korean construction schedules closely to ensure delivery windows remain intact.

The company has not filed any regulatory notice of shipyard operation suspensions or vessel delivery postponements as of Oct. 10, 2026. The Ulsan shipyard continued standard operations following the vote count.

Shipyard management and union leadership plan to reopen formal bargaining sessions in mid-October to draft a revised contract. Both sides aim to conclude terms before year-end vessel handover milestones.