ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the second of the book’s three case studies. It provides a national-level analysis of the negotiation and implementation of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement, followed by an industry-level analysis of the agreement’s impacts on workers in the automotive industry. It argues that the negotiation of labour provisions was advanced by the EU and only accepted by South Korea reluctantly. Those labour provisions have not had significant effects on domestic labour laws and working conditions in Korea, where domestic political forces have been far more influential. In the automotive industry, the Hyundai Motor Group’s (HMG) value chain limited the possibilities for the agreement’s labour provisions to take effect. Moreover, the commercial provisions of the agreement shifted competitive conditions in the Korean auto market, contributing to an influx of imports and the erosion of HMG’s profits. This threatened to create adverse impacts on workers in the more insecure and low-paid jobs, especially those located in the lower tiers of the production network.
