Renault Korea Motors CEO Stephane Deblaise takes selfie with employees during the company's "New Start, New Name" event held at its manufacturing plant in Busan, on March 16. Courtesy of Renault Korea Motors

By Kim Jae-heun

Renault Korea Motors has opened a new chapter in its operations since Stephane Deblaise took the helm of the Korean unit of the French carmaker in March.

Deblaise's employee-friendly leadership style appears to be paying off by improving labor-management relations, according to company officials Tuesday.

Renault Korea signed this year's wage bargaining agreement on Sept. 16 with labor and management representatives agreeing on a salary without clashing for the first time in four years, unlike the past, which saw repeated strikes every year.

Strikes used to jeopardize the Europe-bound exports of Renault Korea Motors' XM3 compact SUVs, the main volume vehicle produced at the Busan plant which substituted the Nissan Rogue which were exported to the U.S.

But this year, Renault Korea Motors' employees celebrated the production of 200,000 XM3 compact SUVS at the Busan plant on Sept. 27.

Renault Korea Motors CEO Stephane Deblaise, fourth from right in front row, celebrates with employees after the successful production of over 200,000 XM3 vehicles at its Busan plant, on Sept. 26. Courtesy of Renault Korea Motors

"This big turnaround actually started when the company changed the name to Renault Korea Motors by deleting Samsung in the name used over 20 years," a company official said.

After the announcement of the new name, Renault Korea Motors together with Renault Group made public Geely Automobile Holdings' subscription for 34 percent of the shares of Renault Korea Motors' through a capital increase.

Now the automaker is collaborating with Geely Group in projects involving the launch of an all-new vehicle lineup for the Korean market in 2024.

In a message to employees after the wage and collective bargaining agreement was reached, Deblaise emphasized the importance of human resources, communication, and cooperative partnerships with the union, saying, "A company can never succeed without employees and the union."

As soon as he started working in Korea as CEO, Deblaise decided to place direct communication with employees as one of the top priorities of his work.

He visited each site of the company in Busan, Giheung, and Seoul to hold Q&A sessions and exchange his thoughts freely with workers on the points they raised.

In particular, he made a big effort to improve labor and management relations by meeting often with union leaders and assembly line workers.

From a big town hall meeting with all plant employees to visits to night-shift workers, Deblaise made frequent encounters with employees to listen to them and reflect their voice into his management decision, according to the automaker.