The Restructuring of Labour in the Automobile Industry in South Korea

Based on a case study of the South Korean automobile industry, this article explores the qualitative shift in employment practices implied by the expansion of contract labour from peripheral services to the main production activities of firms. This new phenomenon involves the greater integration of labour contracting into the production process, together with changes in employment practices and the rights of workers, which poses a challenge to our conventional understanding of labour contracting. The findings of the present study address the importance of investigating the issue of employment relationships and analysing the roles played by workplace actors in order to better understand the process of change in labour contracting and the consequences of increased numbers of non‐standard workers in the workplace. By revealing both the cooperation and the conflicting interests between workplace actors, the study highlights the sources of tension and contradiction associated with changes in labour contracting arrangements and the subsequent restructuring of the workplace.