Korea Autos: Hyundai Motor union approves strike authorization; more noise likely than damage

Research evidence excerpt

Korea Autos: Hyundai Motor union approves strike authorization; more noise likely than damage

J P M O R G A N Asia Pacific Equity Research

24 June 2026

Korea Autos

Hyundai Motor union approves strike authorization;

more noise likely than damage

Hyundai Motor’s (HMC) labor union approved strike authorization on June 24, Korea Auto, EV battery, Nuclear and

with the key milestone being the June 25 mediation meeting; if no agreement is Utility

reached, the union will legally secure the right to strike. We do not expect major Sonny Lee AC

disruption, given: 1) a more pragmatic union stance in recent years; 2) declining (82-2) 758 5716

Korea capacity exposure; and 3) historical impacts have been manageable and sonny.lee@jpmorgan.com

often offset via overtime/global production rebalancing, with no clear correlation Seri Yoon

to share prices. Worst-case, fully meeting the union’s profit-linked bonus demand (82-2) 758 5704

(~W1.2tn) implies ~10% downside to our 2026E consolidated OP estimate. Kia’s seri.yoon@jpmorgan.com

J.P. Morgan Securities (Far East) Limited, Seoul

union remains more amicable, with limited earnings risk from bus business-related Branch

noise. We reiterate our Overweight ratings on HMC/Kia and would recommend

using any labor-driven pullback as a buying opportunity.

• HMC labor union votes for strikes. On June 24, HMC’s labor union approved

strike action as part of this year’s wage negotiations. The key next milestone

is the mediation meeting on the 25th, where the Labor Relations Commission

will attempt to broker a last-minute agreement. If no agreement is reached, the

union will legally secure the right to strike.

• We expect a negotiated settlement and do not anticipate major labor

disruptions: 1) While the current union head, JC Lee, is viewed as hawkish,