Hyundai union calls for work stoppage next week

SEOUL (Reuters) - Unionized employees of Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) will walk off the job for four hours next week to push for a pay increase, the auto maker's union said on Saturday.

The latest labor action follows a two-hour walk off on Wednesday by unionized employees at Hyundai Motor and other South Korean car makers, in a move aimed at having the government scrap a U.S. beef import deal.

The union will decide by Monday whether next week's walk off will be launched on Tuesday or Thursday.

"Our initial plan was to focus on negotiations after the partial strike last week, but with the Labor Ministry and the Prosecutors stating our move as illegal, we have decided to go on another walk off," said Chang Kyu-ho, a spokesman at Hyundai Motor's union.

On Friday, unionized workers of GM Daewoo Automotive and Technology Co, a unit of General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said they will partially stop work on July 8. nSEO335491

Rallies against the unpopular beef deal, struck last month, have caused a crisis for President Lee Myung-bak's four-month-old government.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, an umbrella labor group comprising auto makers and metal workers, has been part of some of the most violent protests in the country and also called for a massive street protest later in the day.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by)