But our home market is our root and the base for our growth overseas. And there's a risk in building cars overseas," said a Hyundai executive from the team that manages its labor relations. On Saturday, Hyundai's labor union elected Lee Kyung-hoon, a moderate, as its new president, suggesting a period of steadier industrial relations after the 46,000-strong union, under more militant leadership, staged two strikes in two years. Lee's previous stint as Hyundai's union boss, from late-2009 to 2011, was strike-free. Economies of scale Despite the high legacy costs, Hyundai says it has more to gain than lose in keeping its domestic factories open. "Our Korean plants will continue to serve as a global manufacturing base, and we plan to increase not just production but also productivity and quality at our domestic plants," the company said in a statement to Reuters.