Signal POSCO Nears First-Ever Strike as Korean Labor Board Ends Mediation

Summary

South Korea's National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) issued a decision on August 18, 2026 to end mediation in the third round of wage and collective bargaining talks between POSCO and its union, formally granting the union legal strike rights. The union is demanding a 7.1% base salary increase and a 600% incentive bonus, while management has offered only a 1.5% base increase and a 2.5 million won incentive payment, and the gap has proven insurmountable. POSCO Labour Union approved industrial action with a 92.2% yes vote on a 97.1% turnout in a strike-authorization vote held July 8-9, 2026. POSCO has maintained a rare record of 58 consecutive strike-free years since its 1968 founding, surviving the Asian Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic without a full walkout, but now stands closer than ever to its first-ever full-scale strike. The dispute is part of a broader wave of Korean labor unrest that has spread from semiconductors into autos, shipbuilding, and steel, and observers warn of ripple effects through the steel supply chain into automotive, shipbuilding, construction, and appliance sectors.