Forty-one companies that have demonstrated cooperative labor-management practices — including overcoming multiple-union conflicts, sharing profits and expanding direct employment — have been named this year's outstanding labor-management culture firms.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced Friday that it had selected 41 companies and public institutions as the "2026 Outstanding Labor-Management Culture Firms" for exemplary practices built on dialogue and cooperation.
A total of 112 companies nationwide applied this year, and following regional reviews and case presentations, 14 small and medium-sized enterprises, 15 large companies and 12 public institutions were ultimately selected. The number of public-sector honorees grew from eight last year to 12 this year.
The ministry said it highly valued the selected firms for maintaining strike-free records grounded in mutual trust, sharing profits, improving the dual structure of the labor market and supporting partner companies — all while navigating difficult conditions such as multiple-union environments and industrial transitions.
Among the standout cases was EWP Service, a power-equipment maintenance company. Despite operating seven worksites nationwide with five separate unions — including affiliates of both major national union federations — the company has maintained strike-free wage and collective bargaining agreements for seven consecutive years since its founding by running diverse communication channels. It distributes profit-sharing bonuses to all employees funded from operating profit, and has established a joint labor-management committee to develop job-retention measures in preparation for the phaseout of coal-fired power plants.
Auto parts maker Dongwon Metal reached a turnaround agreement during a period of heavy losses and the COVID-19 pandemic: the union accepted cuts to welfare benefits and a deferral of wage payments, while management pledged not to carry out forced restructuring. The company subsequently posted its highest-ever operating profit since its founding and followed up with expanded welfare benefits and performance bonuses, sustaining the cooperative relationship.
Hyorim Industrial directly hired 120 subcontract workers last year to close the working-condition gap that had resulted from its outsourcing-heavy operations. The company also runs a program supporting foreign students in finding employment and settling in the local community, earning recognition as a model of labor-management cooperation that benefits the broader region.
In the public sector, Busan Urban Corporation resolved multiple-union conflicts that arose after an institutional merger by consolidating into a single union and unified job-classification system through tripartite labor-management-government consultations. It used the resulting incentives to introduce a wage structure that gives relatively more to lower-paid workers, applied a living wage for non-regular employees, and launched a 30 billion won cooperative fund for partner companies.
The selected firms will receive a range of administrative and financial benefits over the next three years, including exemptions from regular labor inspections, deferrals of tax audits (for model taxpayers) and preferential loan interest rates. Companies recognized as outstanding labor-management culture firms for 2024 through 2026 will also be eligible to apply for the "Labor-Management Culture Grand Prize," which is scheduled to be awarded at a year-end ceremony.
fact0514@heraldcorp.com
