Why So Fast? Stop! ... Hyundai Motor Union Official Given Probation for Halting Production Line Citing Violation of Labor-Management Agreement

Hyundai Motor Company's Ulsan plant export shipment dock filled with completed vehicles waiting for export. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A union official who shut down a production line claiming the operation speed was too fast received a prison sentence but was given a suspended sentence in court.

The reason for pressing the emergency stop button was that the speed was slightly faster than the speed agreed upon by labor and management.

On the 22nd, the Ulsan District Court Criminal Division 5 (Presiding Judge Kim Jeong-cheol) announced that it sentenced Hyundai Motor union official A, who was prosecuted for obstructing business by interfering with the production process, to six months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence.

A, a union official at Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant, was accused of stopping the production line for about 41 minutes last January.

According to the court, the company claimed that it suffered damages worth about 100 million won due to A causing production disruptions.

A is known to have pressed the emergency stop button in protest because the production line operation speed was 0.47 to 0.78% faster than the labor-management agreed standard.

The company requested resumption of operations since there were no changes in work intensity or hours, but A did not accept this.

The court explained, "A claimed self-defense, but considering that there was no change in the number of units produced per hour, it cannot be seen that A's rights were significantly infringed upon, so the claim was not accepted."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.