I've had this question forming in my head for about 6 months now and I finally feel ready to put it out there.
In the Dojang that I train at, HGDG is not the main art. That honor goes to Hapkido which is a very awesome and beautiful art. One of the effects this has though is that stretching has become almost nonexistent. We're supposed to be stretching at the end of class, but this hardly if ever happens.
Now my personal view is that what works for one art may not work for another. The style of HKD that is taught in my Dojang is very practical and self-defense oriented which means that we're not doing things like deep kimajases and the like. HDGD on the other hand is very physically strenuous and demanding (especially on the lower body ) and seems like a given that HDGD practitioners would need to stretch more.
So I just wanted to hear opinions, thoughts, criticisms and the like.

I cannot imagine a Hapkido class which doesn't have stretching as a key component. In fact, when I think back to the haze of pain and pummelling of HKD which I enjoyed for a few years, the largest portion of the nightmare seems to have been stretching and threats of more stretching.

I am not at all a fan of stretching, but it's hard to argue against its inclusion, or necessity in this sort of activity.

Coming from a TKD background, I have noticed that most of the strecthing emphasizes the lower body. I try to make a point of including this, as well as additional upper body warm-up and stretches. Shoulder injuries are too easy to obtain, too debilitating for our art, and fortunately, relativley easy to avoid if additional warmup and strength training is included.

I agree with everything said. It makes sense that if you're going to do something physical on regular basis then stretching should be part of your training regimen. It seems like you would be more likely to injure yourself if you did not.
And don't get me wrong, the school that I train/teach at is great. I just wish we'd put more of an emphasis on flexibility.
I guess I should start stretching at home before my classes.

At least for HDGD, I would think that stretching is very important. Although there is always the option of telling the students that it is their responsibility to warm up prior to arriving, to save time.

As for other arts, if a style is very self defense and "street" oriented, then I can see the logic behind not stretching - basically thinking that in a real situation, you would not be stretched. HDGD is a bit different in that respect.