When South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Tuesday, it took all of two hours for the rest of the country to decide that, actually, that would not be happening. Now, Hyundai workers in the country’s Metal Workers’ Union have decided that Yoon rolling back the declaration isn’t enough — they want him gone from office, and they’ll strike unless he leaves.
A spokesperson for union workers at Hyundai announced plans to strike for four hours each tomorrow and Friday, to be followed by a full strike starting on Wednesday, according to U.S. News and World Report. Hyundai Motor is one of South Korea’s largest companies, so a full-scale strike could send ripples through the country’s economy — ripples that an already embattled President would likely want to avoid.
Here in the U.S. we’ve seen Presidents personally step in to make things worse for unions, so it only follows that the reverse should be possible. Yoon Suk Yeol isn’t exactly the most popular man in South Korea right now, with forces in government already moving against him, but the imminent threat of massive economic blowback could expedite those moves. There’s still no guarantee that Yoon will leave office, but staying would certainly make things worse for everyone.
It would likely take quite some time for a strike in South Korea to meaningfully affect U.S. buyers, given the state of dealer inventories and just how long it takes cars to cross over the Pacific, but anyone who has South Korean companies in their 401k portfolio could feel the hit much more immediately. A strike overseas doesn’t stay overseas, not when the company affected is the size of Hyundai. Then again, there may be worse risks to our American finances on the horizon.
