South Korean steelmaker POSCO's union has launched its second partial strike, lasting 120 hours, at the company's Pohang and Gwangyang works, escalating industrial action after renewed wage negotiations with management failed to produce an agreement, according to media reports. The latest action follows the union's first production-line strike since POSCO was established in 1968.
The second partial strike started on September 16 and is scheduled to continue until September 21. The action covers No. 2 hot rolling mill at the Pohang works and No. 4 hot rolling mill at the Gwangyang works, while workers responsible for operating and maintaining reheating furnaces are excluded.
Wage negotiations fail to bridge differences
POSCO and the union resumed negotiations at the company's Pohang headquarters on September 15, but the talks ended without an agreement. The union is seeking a 7.1 percent increase in base wages, incentive payments equivalent to 600 percent of monthly wages, 50 POSCO shares for each employee and a holiday bonus equivalent to 200 percent of monthly wages.
Management, meanwhile, has proposed a two percent increase in base wages, a KRW 3.5 million performance incentive, KRW 500,000 in local gift certificates and expanded long-service payments. According to POSCO management, accepting all of the union's demands would cost approximately KRW 1.4 trillion, while the company's operating profit declined by 43 percent year on year in the first half of 2026.
The latest action follows a 48-hour partial strike held from September 9 to September 11, which targeted the 3ZRM line at the No. 2 electrical steel sheet plant in Pohang and the pickling plant at Gwangyang. The action marked the first partial strike on POSCO production lines in the company's 58-year history.
POSCO says production will face no major disruption
The union has stated that the second strike could cause production disruptions as participation is expected to be higher than during the first walkout. POSCO, however, has said that no major disruption to operations is expected, with around 60 workers at each of the Pohang and Gwangyang works expected to participate.
The company said it plans to deploy available personnel to keep the affected facilities operating normally and has established an emergency response system aimed at preventing disruptions to production and shipments, particularly for materials required by domestic industries.
