Korea Court Puts End to Hyundai’s Job Inheritance Practices

The Ulsan district court recently nullified a clause inHyundai Motor’s collective bargaining agreement requiring “management to hire arelative of an employee who dies or retires due to an industrial accident,regardless of whether they have the required job skills.”  

The case arose after the family of a Hyundai worker who haddied a job-related death demanded the automaker hire one of the victim’schildren pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement.  Although the court ruled that the family wasentitled to receive 56 million in compensation, the court dismissed the claimto a job at Hyundai, stating it was merely “an attempt by union workers tocreate a secret path to employment for their children.” 

This ruling casts doubt on the validity of another clause inHyundai’s collective bargaining agreement, which favors children of retired orlong-serving employees in the recruitment process. 

Although these unfair hiring practices go “against thenotion of social justice,” many Korean companies still adhere to them due topressure from powerful unions.

See [Editorial] JobInheritance, The Korea Herald, May 20, 2013.