hankyoreh

July 21.

The confrontation between police and unionists inside the Ssangyong Motors plant in Pyeongtaek moves into its second day.

Police attempts to enforce a court order for the unionists to leave the plant came to naught on Monday. On Tuesday police tried to approach the paint shop, where the unionists are gathered. Gyeonggi-do police deployed some 400 men in the afternoon and are occupying a warehouse next to the factory headquarters. The move has escalated tensions since the warehouse is a merely a few dozen meters away from the paint shop and provides a vantage point to the paint shop’s entrance.

Prior to occupying the factory headquarters, police advanced four lines of officers deployed inside the front gate some 20 meters to 30 meters at a time towards the paint shop beginning at 3:50 a.m. Later that morning, they also used a helicopter to spray tearing agents in the air above the paint shop. The unionists fired bolt air rifles and burned tires in response to the police advance. Police have deployed 10 companies inside the factory and 20 companies outside the factory for a total of 30 companies or 2,800 men. In order to resume the plant’s operations, the company also sent around 1,500 executives to work for the second day in a row to conduct inspections.

The Gyeonggi Province Police Agency’s Security Investigation Team deployed around 50 police in the morning to conduct a search of the office of the Gyeonggi-do Progressive Alliance in Suwon’s Jangan-dong on charges that the alliance was involved in the Ssangyong Motors strike. Police seized around 240 pieces of evidence, including computers during their one hour and 30 minute search. The group says it is considering suing the police for damages and for abusing their authority.

Criticism is being leveled against the union and the company for letting things get so tangled. The company is complaining that the union will not put forth a concrete plan other than demanding employment guarantees and a withdrawal of the layoffs, and is ignoring unconditional demands for dialogue from the union. Sentiment surrounding the situation, however, suggests the hard line of the automaker’s managers and joint receivers Lee Yu-il and Park Young-tae are prolonging the situation.

Lee Hang-koo, the leader of the Machinery Industry Team of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, notes that the factory occupation needs to be resolved, but says the company has no concrete roadmap for reemployment. He says a recovery plan is needed that takes into consideration a financial perspective and also an industrial perspective in order to rebuild trust in Ssangyong motors, but the company has failed to provide one.

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