Members of the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) union chant slogans at the company's shipyard in Ulsan, April 30, after delivering their requests to management before collective bargaining talks this year. Courtesy of HD HHI union

A senior manager at one of Korea's major business associations has been hesitant to become an executive, which would entail significantly greater responsibilities than his current position, despite the potential for higher pay.

"The only benefit is the provision of a company car," he said. "And I don't want to wear a suit every day to attend business meetings."

It is not unusual to encounter senior-level employees who share that sentiment.

A series of economic recessions prompted workers in their 40s and 50s to avoid pursuing executive positions, which are seen as temporary and thus vulnerable to layoffs.

The recent trend of prioritizing personal lives, however, even prompted some junior-level workers in their 20s and 30s to actually worry about getting promoted.

An engineer in his 30s, who works for a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, has been reluctant to be promoted to a manager. Although he can receive a higher salary after promotion, he wants to maintain his current position for a better work-life balance and to focus more on his area of expertise.

At a junior level, he can also remain as a member of his company's labor union, which would allow him to take more annual leaves than managers and avoid performance reviews.

Based on this tendency among young employees, labor unions at major conglomerates have recently resumed efforts to secure the right to refuse job promotions.

During this year's collective bargaining, the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) union urged management to permit its members to decline being promoted to positions that are ineligible for union membership. Unionized workers at the shipbuilder also requested that their company refrain from dismissing employees or reducing their wages when they opt not to accept promotions.

"When employees lose their status as union members, they should give up various welfare benefits and face fierce competition with their colleagues, because they will be subject to the performance-based wage system," an HD HHI union official said.

The company's management rejected the demand, viewing it as an encroachment on their authority over personnel affairs. The union's request is also seen as an effort to prevent a decrease in its membership, given the recent trend of jobseekers shying away from manual labor positions.

When the unions of Hyundai Motor and HD HHI made similar requests in 2016, their demands were denounced as selfish and considered fatal to the Korean manufacturing sector's competitiveness.

However, such demands are no longer perceived as selfish, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the persistent economic slowdown, which have led young Koreans to prioritize work-life balance and job security over higher wages and increased authority in the workplace.

Experts also anticipate a rise in calls for the right to decline job promotions, especially considering the "quiet quitting" trend, which involves fulfilling only the minimum requirements of one's job and investing no more time, effort, or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary.

"The promotion system is on the brink of becoming a relic of the past," Seoul National University professor Kim Ran-do said. "Workers these days are unwilling to stay at their workplaces for a long time or take responsibility for their companies."