Text Fwd: Report From Korea On Ssangyong Motor Company Strikers Aftermath

* Text fwd by Steve Zeltzer on April 15, 2011
Report From Korea On Ssangyong Motor Company Strikers Aftermath
By resident of Korea

It has been two years since the management of Ssangyong Motor Company in Pyongtaek, South Korea, announced the layoffs of 1000 workers. Shortly thereafter, those workers occupied their plant and held it for 77 days, from May to August 2009, when they finally succumbed to a massive police and army assault.

In the immediate aftermath, many militants were arrested and some were sentenced to years in prison. Most, however, were laid off, on different terms (some with the hope of a recall after one year which to date has never materialized).

Two years after the announcement, fourteen people, both strikers and immediate family, are dead. (This is in turn part of a larger pattern in South Korea, including a spate of deaths from cancer by workers for Samsung and four recent suicides of students at KAIST, Korea's "MIT", resulting from grade pressures. Korea has the highest suicide rate of any advanced industrial country, and rivals the U.S. for deaths and injuries on the job per capita.)

Five Ssangyong workers have committed suicide and five have died from cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack or brain hemorrhage.
Doctors believe these were caused by severe stress in the aftermath of the strike and layoffs. Some of the suicides resulted from economic problems following the lay-offs.

In Feb 2011, one worker on unpaid time-off died of a heart attack. Under the pressure of the layoffs, his wife had killed herself in April 2010. They had two children. The worker's bank balance was close to zero.

The following is gleaned from an article in the South Korean daily newspaper Hangyereh:

A Korean hospital also found that more than half the Ssangyong strikers it has seen are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, and 80% are suffering from severe depression. Almost all the workers involved have reported a deterioration in their marriages. Their average post-restructuring monthly income, of 822,800 Won ($757), represented a 74 percent reduction from their previous salary.

After the defeat of the strike, 462 workers were put on unpaid leave. The promised one-year period has elapsed, yet the company maintains it is unable to begin reinstatement. Workers who retired or were fired are having difficulty finding new employment because of the Ssangyong “scarlet letter,” and have been making do with temporary jobs and day-to-day work. Also absent has been any social safety network to address their deteriorating health and financial anxieties.

Hangyereh calls the 14 deaths "social homicides".

We must never forget the brothers and sisters who have died in the class war.

Text Fwd: Breaking the gridlock at Ssangyong

* Text fwd from Steve Zeltzer on Feb. 28, 2011

Hankyoreh
Breaking the gridlock at Ssangyong
Feb. 28, 2011

There have been a string of recent suicides among workers laid off by Ssangyong Motor, which enacted a mass-layoff in 2009 followed by a 77-day strike and brutal crackdown. One after another has departed this world, unable to handle the agonizing realities of life that followed their dismissal from the company. The latest is an individual named Im who was found dead Saturday. Adding to the tragedy of the case is the fact that Im’s wife took own life last year in the shock resulting from her husband’s firing. There are said to be around ten workers and worker family members who have died since the Ssangyong strike. It is time for not only Ssangyong Motor labor and management but also politicians and the government to take active steps in devising a solution.

Ssangyong Motor faced severe conflict between labor and management with its early 2009 push for mass layoffs in order to overcome financial difficulties. After a protracted 77-day strike, labor and management managed a dramatic compromise on Aug. 6 of that year, but no follow-up measures ensued. In particular, some 400 or so workers are on unpaid leave, making them effectively laid off while still affiliated with Ssangyong Motor, as was the case with the late Mr. Im. At the time the compromise was reached, the company promised to arrange for rotations for these workers according to production quantity after a year’s time. More than a year and seven months later, it is feigning ignorance. The company must present a timeline for when and how it will be returning these individuals to their operations.

The management may take the view that the financial situation has not yet improved enough to bring in new workers. However, the situation has been gradually stabilizing since the confirmation of Ssangyong Motor’s acquisition by India’s Mahindra Group last year. New shares were issued normally in 2011, and automobile sales are looking up, going from around 35 thousand vehicles in 2009 to over 80 thousand last year. It is also time now to establish measures for laid-off workers, as the company will be able to resume normal operations when it escapes from court receivership around late March.

Politicians and the government should also focus their attention on the plight of these workers. During the strike in 2009, a number of politicians visited the scene to resolve the situation, but no one showed any interest after the strike ended. Politicians must refrain from this kind of self-serving show of benevolence for appearance’s sake. The government, for its part, agreed to respect the current labor-management agreement when the Mahindra Group acquired Ssangyong Motor, and it needs to follow through on this to the letter. When a foreign business acquires a domestic company, it is the government’s natural responsibility to provide administration and oversight to ensure that a labor-management agreement to guarantee the employment of domestic workers is properly upheld.

Photos Fwd: Workers' Voice Continues: Protests around the National Assembly, Nov. 30 노동자들의 목소리 계속되다: 국회 주변 시위들

Description comes later
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Photos Fwd: Pan-Korean Workers’ Rally, Nov. 8, 2009

* Image source: reporter, Lee Myung-Ik, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

'50,000 members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gathered in Yoeuido Square, Seoul on Nov. 8, 2009,
to have a Pan-Korean Workers’ rally to success the spirit of the martyr, Jeon Tae Il who self-immolated in fire
for the basic rights of the workers in the 70s, at his early 20 years old.'

* Image source: reporter, Lee Myung-Ik, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

“ 2MB (* Current South Korean President, Lee Myung Bak), Get Away from the Earth”

* In the picture of the rocket, Lee Myung Bak who has been mocked as “Rat”
is roped with the letters of “Get Away from the Earth!”

* Image source: reporter, Lee Myung-Ik, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

* Image source: reporter, Lee Myung-Ik, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

* Image source: reporter, Lee Myung-Ik, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
cultural event on the Nov. 7th night before the rally on Nov. 8

‘Mask is another truth:
SSangyong automobile workers are doing performance on the cultural event on Nov. 7, 2009.’

* Image source: reporter, Lee Myung-Ik, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

‘Tug Boat Workers Are the Workers, as well:
Tug boat workers from Ulsan speak on the cultural event on Nov. 7, 2009.’

* Image source: reporter, Lee Myung-Ik, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

'Bring Settlement to the Yongsan Tragedy'

Widow, Kim Young-Duk, of one of the five killed victims in the Yongsan tragedy speaks
on the cultureal event on Nov. 7, 2009

Text Fwd: Agreement was Reached at Ssangyong Motors

* Image source:
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)

Agreement was Reached at Ssangyong Motors ...
6th August, 2009
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)

Dear Colleagues,

Solidarity Greetings from KCTU!

On Thursday(August 6th), agreement was reached between Ssangyong Motors management and workers. KMWU Ssangyong Motors Branch brought a 77-day sit-in strike to an end. The main contents of the agreement are as follows.

_ Union members who are affected by the layoffs, are allowed to make a choice of unpaid leave, transfers to sales positions, transfers to spin-offs, or voluntary resignation. 48 % of restructured people are being given unpaid leave or are being transferred to sales positions, and 52 % are voluntarily resigning or shifting to spin-offs. (However, what is the '100%' out of which the ratio is applied is subject to additional negotiations for details.)

_After one year, depending on production levels, workers on unpaid leave are allowed to engage in job rotation and 2-day work shift system will be implemented. Workers who are transferred into sales positions will be provided with wages of 500,000 Won per month for one year.

__Workers who take an unpaid leave, transfer to sales positions or voluntarily retire during this restructuring period will be fairly reinstated or rehired if a demand for new workers arises in the future as a result of an improvement in the company’s financial situation.

__An additional two-month voluntary retirement allowance will be paid to workers taking unpaid leave or retiring voluntarily, while livelihood security support, such as job placement, will be provided in cooperation with central and local governments and cooperating firms.

__The management will withdraw criminal proceedings against the trade union and its members in order to encourage good willingness for the revival of Ssangyong Motors. Civil liability will be also called off when the company’s revival plan is approved.

As for the KCTU’s position on the agreement, please see the below statement. But at this moment, we would like to point out that 96 strikers have been jailed, immediately transported from the sit-in strike to the police jail. We are very concerned that arrested people will be facing serious prison sentences and the union will face massive legal fees. In this regard, we are kindly requesting you to keep your eyes on this case continuously. We will keep you informed on any development of Ssangyong workers who are taken into custody.

Finally, we would like to emphasize that international solidarity and pressure contributed enormously to bring a peaceful settlement of the dispute. We would like to extend upmost appreciation for your great support and solidarity for the Ssangyong Motors Workers.

In Solidarity,

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU)

[Attached]

KCTU Statement on Agreement
between Ssangyong Motors Management and Workers

The Struggle against Layoffs will Continue!

The management and trade union of Ssangyong Motors held their final round of talks today (6th August) and came to an agreement. The KCTU respects the decisions of KMWU Ssangyong Motors Branch, of coming to an agreement through dialogue to prevent further catastrophe. We firmly reaffirm that the inhumane and potentially deadly actions taken by police and management during the course of the strike are acts that cannot be condoned. Innocent workers are still being made to bear the brunt of this economic crisis and the poorly-conceived sell-off of companies to foreign capital. If these circumstances persist, the KCTU warns that the struggle against unjust dismissals can re-spark anytime, anywhere.

The struggle of KMWU Ssangyong Motors Branch is the result of bad contradictory economic policies. The management and government initially caused and then precipitated the crisis. They had continuously looked for ways to bash the union. Workers were forced through mass dismissals to pay for bad management practices. The government had pushed ahead with the sell-off of Ssangyong Motors to Shanghai Motors, which then withdrew after profiteering, driving Ssangyong to bankruptcy. Furthermore, we witnessed the worst forms of human rights violations such as cutting off the electricity, water and medicine, and the clashes in front of the plant was also very serious. Thus, the lesson to be learnt from this crisis is that the government must revise its substandard economic and labour policies while the management must do away with its union-bashing attitude and practices such as refusing to recognize the trade union as a dialogue partner.

The agreement between Ssangyong Motor labour and management will not automatically lead to normalization of production. The forthcoming revival process of Ssangyong Motors may entail more confrontation. Both government and management must realize that if they maintain their present mindset, the tragedy can be repeated. The management must acknowledge the errors that it had made, and accordingly sincerely reflect upon their conduct as well as show their will for improvement. The government should turn away from their attitude of instigating destructive government-labour and management-labour relations, including its excessive criminal punishment for legitimate union activities. Furthermore, the government should come up with responsible measures such as injecting needed government aid into the ailing company. Both the government and management must not forget that the reason Ssangyong Motors struggle went beyond a ‘managerial’ to become a ‘political’ issue, blocking amicable settlement, was precisely because of their negative approach.

The KCTU will not stop its struggles against anti-labour policies of the Lee Myung Bak government, and will not stand by complacently should Ssangyong Motors continue its union-bashing practices as shown during the recent crisis. We express sincere gratitude to our members and all citizens who had exerted tremendous effort into settling the crisis, and resolve to strive more strongly to attain labour rights of 15 million workers of South Korea.

Finally, the KCTU hopes that the souls of Ssangyong Motors workers and family members who had lost their very lives in the course of these mass redundancy dismissals may rest in peace and conveys deep condolences to the bereaved.

6th August, 2009

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)

* Related articles

Hankyoreh
Ssangyong Motors, union members come to an agreement
As autoworkers secure a lower ratio of non-fired workers and call off strike, police start making arrests
Posted on : Aug.7,2009 12:24 KST

Yonhap News
(LEAD) Creditors of Ssangyong Motor to withdraw liquidation petition
2009/08/07 14:48 KST


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No Base Stories of Korea
Text Fwd: Ssangyong's fired workers end plant occupation
Thursday, August 6, 2009

Text Fwd: Ssangyong's fired workers end plant occupation

* Image source:
1. Voice of People
2. Voice of People
3. Yonhap News: same as below

Yonhap News
Ssangyong's fired workers end plant occupation
2009/08/06 15:23 KST


PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- Hundreds of fired workers Thursday voluntarily ended their 77-day seizure of a painting shop of Ssangyong Motor Co. after union leaders and management agreed on a broad framework for a layoff plan, police said.

About 400 laid-off workers started moving out the painting facility at around 2:50 p.m. while police verified identifications. "Work is in progress to check all identifications," a police official said.

The protesters will be sent to nearby police stations for questioning, according to the official.

Thursday's agreement came after several days of raids by police commandos to disperse the fired workers who have been occupying the facility since late May in protest against the layoffs, authorized by a court in February when Ssangyong entered bankruptcy protection.

Earlier in the day, the Ssangyong union proposed a resumption of talks with a new offer and the management accepted it, both sides said, describing the talks as "final."

Park Young-tae, one of two court-appointed managers for Ssangyong, and Han Sang-kyun, the union leader, began the talks inside the plant at 11:00 a.m. in this rural town of Pyeongtaek, about 70km south of Seoul.

The union proposed to accept a plan to save 48 percent of some 1,000 laid-off workers by giving them unpaid long-term leaves of absence, according to a source close to the talks. Ssangyong had previously offered to save 40 percent of the laid-off workers.

"I understand that both sides reached a deal to save 48 percent of the fired workers," the source said.

Some 1,000 fired workers occupied the painting facility on May 22, with more than half of them having voluntarily given up the occupation after police stepped up their siege of the facility.

On Wednesday, police commandos seized all facilities in the plant with the exception of the paint shop as it is filled with flammable materials. Scores of protesters and police were injured in violent clashes earlier in the week.

Ssangyong, the smallest carmaker in South Korea, received bankruptcy protection in exchange for implementing a turnaround plan calling for 36 percent of its workforce, or 2,646 employees, to be cut.

Since then, some 1,670 workers have left the company through voluntary retirement plans, while the remaining 976 workers have been on strike.

The standoff has darkened prospects for the carmaker's survival, costing nearly 316 billion won (US$258.3 million) in lost production.

Also on Wednesday, several creditors of Ssangyong filed a petition with a bankruptcy court in Seoul demanding the court swiftly liquidate the strike-hit carmaker to recoup their debts.

The creditors represented some 600 suppliers of Ssangyong, which owes 276 billion won to them.

The petition is not legally binding, however, and a decision by the court is expected to come after Sept. 15, when Ssangyong is required to submit its restructuring plan.

China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. retains 51 percent ownership over Ssangyong, though the parent lost management control after the carmaker entered bankruptcy protection.


* Related English article

Hankyoreh
NHRCK asks police to stop crackdown at Ssangyong Motors plant:
The organization is monitoring the human rights situation and concludes several auto workers’ human rights are being violated
Posted on : Aug.6,2009 12:04 KST Modified on : Aug.6,2009 12:13 KST

http://www.workers.org/2009/world/korea_0813/
Solidarity with Korean workers
Published Aug 5, 2009 4:03 PM

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http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/2.html
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Text Fwd: KCTU Statement : Violent Suppression of Ssangyong Motors Workers: A Declaration of War on Its Own People

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-union-members-lives-are-at.html
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Text Fwd: Union Members’ Lives are at Stake

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-ssangyong-motors-factory.html
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Text Fwd: Ssangyong Motors factory occupation attacked by police

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-police-storming-ssangyong.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Text Fwd: Police Storming Ssangyong Plant

Text Fwd: KCTU Statement : Violent Suppression of Ssangyong Motors Workers: A Declaration of War on Its Own People

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
KCTU Statement : Violent Suppression of Ssangyong Motors Workers: A Declaration of War on Its Own People
2009.08.06 13:13:45

[Statement] Violent Suppression of Ssangyong Motors Workers: A Declaration of War on Its Own People

5th, August

In the morning of August 5th, the police started its raid to forcefully break the strike at Ssangyong Motors Pyeongtaek Plant, literally turning the factory into a war zone. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) strongly condemns the insane police raid that can bring deaths, and demands the immediate withdrawal of police forces. The police operation is taking place in collaboration with company goons, without any consideration for human lives or safety measures.

Containers hanging from cranes, water cannons, teargas concentrate, taser guns, to name a few, have been mobilized, and during the process of the raid, two workers fell from the roof of the assembly line building and were seriously injured. One of the workers broke his 3rd and 4th vertebrae. 23 workers were arrested and 7 of them are undergoing treatment in the hospital for various injuries.

The police beat workers collectively, even those who had given up resisting, before arresting them. Workers who were in dire need of medical treatment were neglected for more than an hour. Fires broke out in several places nearby the paintshop building, which houses a large amount of inflammable chemicals and is thus extremely dangerous, however, the police were too busy beating the workers to quickly put out the soaring flames. The police have turned into a private militia that follows orders of the management and its puppet goons, and tramples upon human lives.

The company goons, armed with metal pipes, wooden sticks, huge slingshots, molotov cocktails and other lethal weapons, showed no remorse when violently beating down on people in and outside the factory. The encampment tents set up in front of the factory by civil society activists, political parties and religious groups were completely demolished by the metal pipes swung relentlessly by these goons. Many of these goons were smirking in the process – enough to sense murderous intentions. As previously experience, the police merely stood aside and watched the criminal acts of these goons.

The police raid is in complete contradiction to the earnest yearning of Ssangyong workers, their family members, labour/human rights/religious/civic organization members for a peaceful solution to the Ssangyong crisis. Unions and civic organizations have repetitiously warned that if police raids into the paintshop 2 building, where the striking workers have locked themselves in together with tons of inflammable material, there can be a catastrophe incomparable to the Yongsan Massacre, during which 5 evictees were burnt to death.

The KCTU considers the forced suppression of Ssangyong Motors workers as a declaration of war by the government on its own people including the working class. We sternly announce that we will implement even stronger, full-fledged struggles against the Lee Myung Bak government. President Lee Myung Bak, who seems to have given up his role as a head of state, should realize that the pain, anger and sadness that Ssangyong Motors workers felt today will be avenged on him.

5th August 2009

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU)

* Related blog
http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-agreement-was-reached-at.html
Friday, August 7, 2009
Text Fwd: Agreement was Reached at Ssangyong Motors

Text Fwd: Ssangyong Motors factory occupation attacked by police

* Image source/description: same as below
'Ssangyong Motors union members try to block the special attack unit from entering assembly shop buildings in the Pyeongtaek plant that are located close to the paint shop where they have been demonstrating, August 4.'

Hankyoreh
Ssangyong Motors factory occupation attacked by police: Police seize one of the paint shop buildings after engaging in an unsuccessful land-air assault against union members on the previous day
Posted on : Aug.5,2009 12:41 KST

In just two days since talks between management and labor broke down, the Ssangyong Motors plant in Pyeongtaek has once again been transformed into a war zone.　

On August 4, police and company security clashed violently with union members, as the former attempted to push its way into the plant paint shop where the workers have assembled. The automaker also had the tent camp that had been set up in front of the plant’s gate taken down as the operation unfolded. The Democratic Labor Party had pitched a tent in front of the plant to serve as its temporary office. Other lawmakers and religious and civic group members had set up an additional eight tents.

The police SWAT team deployed a land-air assault on the paint shop Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. They sent in around 10 companies (1,000 men) on the ground while helicopters armed with tearing agents were flown above the paint shop. Police attempts to enter the paint shop from three directions include an effort to secure a path from the roof of a nearby building. Union members, however, used slingshots and Molotov cocktails to provide strong resistance against the assault. The police were forced to withdraw in failure after a three hour-long struggle. At around 12:30 p.m., some 50-company security personnel armed with slingshots and metal pipes attempted to make their way into the paint shop by accessing the roof of a nearby building, but this too, was unsuccessful.

Afterwards, police deployed 40 companies (40,000 men) to the plant, and the company ordered 2,200 employees back to work.


On August 5, it took the police SWAT team twenty minutes to seize one of the paint shop buildings after landing a special attack unit onto the shop’s roof in an armored box by helicopter at 9:50 a.m. This followed the police seizure of the buildings housing the third and fourth assembly line in the automaker’s plant at 8:10 a.m. By that point, most union members had retreated to an adjacent paint shop building, and there was no major clash between members and police officers.

Two union members were injured in a fall from the roof of the paint shop.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]


* Related blogs

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/text-fwd-police-storming-ssangyong.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2009 Text Fwd: Police Storming Ssangyong Plant

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/08/specters-of-liquidation-surround.html
Monday, August 3, 2009 Specters of liquidation surround Ssangyong Motors as talks break down

Text Fwd: Union Members’ Lives are at Stake

Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
Union Members' Lives are at Stake!
2009.08.05 21:39:51

Stop Brutal Raid against the Ssangyong Motor Workers!
Our Union Members' Lives are at Stake!

Please see video : http://www.tagstory.com/video/video_post.aspx?media_id=V000348803
For full text, please open the attached document - Ssangyong_August_5_Update.doc

Yesterday, the company goons ripped apart the shelters of solidarity supporters encamped outside the plant and arrested KMWU Vice President WOO, Byeong-kuk at the scene. When the news of the all-out raid spread, a swell of workers and students kept streaming to Pyeongtaek and spontaneous rallies began with first 100, then 200, then 600-700 . Right now supporters are peacefully marching to the plant and some two dozen are being arrested with police firing water cannons on the march.

Currently, we have hundreds of injured sit-in workers with some extremely serious injuries such as spinal cord injury (from falling off roof of building when SWAT team began chasing the workers on the roof), from rubber bullets, taser gun shocks, and a fire broke out in the buildling next to the paintshop building. An all-out raid on a paintshop with hundreds of thousands of liters of flammable chemicals is incredibly risky and an excessively violent way to end the dispute ; it is deliberately putting the lives of our union members at risk

Please call on the Korean government

; to call off this extraordinarily dangerous raid!

; to participate in negotiations over alternatives to dismissal and a future for the plant .

Our union members' lives are at stake.

- Any international solidarity actions should be taken in front of the Korean Embassy now (no more Ssangyong dealerships)
- Any diplomatic pressure on the South korean government to stop this extraordinarily dangerous raid, to stop denying the sit-in strikers food, water, proper medical attention, electricity (they are treating each others wounds by candlelight) etc would be appreciated
- Please send us photos of your action so we can let the workers inside the plant know

in solidarity,

Korean Metal Workers' Union(KMWU)
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU)
You would..

* Ssangyong_August_5_Update.doc (1.38MB)(18)

Text Fwd: Police Storming Ssangyong Plant

* Image source/ description: Same as below

'A truck is ablaze at Ssangyong Motor plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, as striking unionists are clashing with riot policemen in front of a paint building, Tuesday. / Korea Times Photo by Cho Young-ho'

Korea Times
Police Storming Ssangyong Plant
By Park Si-soo, Staff Reporter

Black smoke poured from Ssangyong Motor plant Tuesday morning as special police units stormed into one of three buildings dismissed workers have been occupying for more than two months.

Dozens of officers jumped onto the building's rooftop at 10:40 a.m. from an aerial ladder as police helicopters sprayed liquid teargas. The workers resisted by throwing petrol bombs and blocks, and using slingshots.

At least 23 people were injured during the clash and taken to hospital, police said.

After successfully landing on the rooftop, the police squad was set to move into the plant, which is packed with flammable material.

Police on the ground removed cars and barricades that have prevented riot police from moving forward, a move signaling that a crackdown on protesters was imminent.

About 300 riot police armed with batons and plastic shields had approached to within five meters of the occupied building.

``Today we will retake as much of the factory as possible,'' a police officer said at the scene. ``But we will be cautious in moving inside the buildings due to strong resistance from the occupiers.''

The prosecution said it will be tough against the workers for their illegal occupation of the plant.

The operation came two days after last-ditch talks between management and laid-off workers broke down, and one day before creditors of the firm were to submit a request for the liquidation of the carmaker which has a 2-percent domestic market share.

Creditors said they have no choice but to seek liquidation unless the plant was normalized by 4 p.m. today.

``Unless police kick all protesters out of the facility by that time, we will submit the request to the Seoul Central District Court,'' Choi Myung-hoon, the representative of the creditors, told The Korea Times.

Police estimate some 550 laid-off Ssangyong workers remain inside the four-story paint shop.

The building is reportedly no better than a ``refugee camp,'' as supplies of water, food and electricity were cut last week.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr


*More photos/ videos in the Korean article

Hankyoreh
2009, 08, 04

*Related articles

Yonhap News
Police, laid-off workers clash at occupied Ssangyong facility
2009/08/04

Hankyoreh
Police resume spraying tear gas on striking workers at Ssangyong Motors:
An estimated 600 workers resolve to remain at the auto plant despite impending police raid and company announcement to employees to prepare to return to work Tuesday
Posted on : Aug.4,2009

Hankyoreh
[Editorial] Caring if people live or die at Ssangyong Motors plant
Posted on : Aug.4,2009 11:51 KST