hankyoreh

Bishop at Suwon Parish

By Hong Yong-deok, south Gyeonggi correspondent

“What happened to the president who promised to bring unity to South Koreans?”

On Mar. 25, one month after South Korean President Park Geun-hye took office, a Catholic bishop climbed an electricity pylon in front of the Ssangyong Motor factory in the Chilgoe neighborhood of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. This act is part of continuing religious efforts to find a resolution to the crisis at Ssangyong Motor.

Around 11 am, Lee Yong-hun, bishop and chair of the Justice and Peace Commission for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, and Jang Dong-hun, a priest and general manager of the commission, used a boom lift to ascend a 150,000 volt electric tower. At the top, they met Han Sang-gyun, 52, former leader of the Ssangyong Motor chapter of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, and Bok Gi-seong, 37, senior vice-president of the irregular workers’ union. This was the 126th day of Han and Bok’s aerial protest.

As he stepped into the tent beneath the electric tower, Lee spoke with determination. “The crisis at Ssangyong is not an issue that can be settled in the courts. Rather, it is a matter of justice,” he said.

“Imagine how much of a burden this must be for the of the parents, wives and children of the victims. Twenty-four workers died in pain. It simply isn’t right for us not to do something about what drove them to their death. The only way for this crisis to be resolved is for representatives from the central government, the local government, Ssangyong Motor, and the terminated employees to meet at the negotiating table.”

The spring sun was shining on the electricity pylon, where the protesters endured the intense cold this past winter, but the cold wind was still whipping around them.

It is estimated that there are currently 20 workplaces around the country where sit-in demonstrations have been continuing for 300 days or more. As the aerial protests at the Ssangyong Motor factory in Pyeongtaek, the Hyundai Motor factory in Ulsan, and two other locations drag on, more and more workers are collapsing.

On Mar. 20, Hong Jong-in, 40, the leader of the Yoosung Enterprise chapter of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, collapsed after 151 days of an aerial protest. On Mar. 15, Mun Gi-ju, 54, president of the chapter of mechanics at Ssangyong Motor was taken to the hospital at the end of 116 days in the air.

But what is even more discouraging for these protesters is the continuing refusal of the central government and Ssangyong Motor management to enter negotiations.

“When I look up at the pylon, there is nothing to say, and when my colleagues up here on the pylon look at me, there is still nothing to say. My life is a living hell,” said Kim Jeong-woo, president of the Ssangyong chapter of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union. “We have been ready to talk all this time. But over the five years since the layoff and the 126 days of the aerial protest, we have not received even one request for negotiations from management.”

Around 2 pm, Lee Seong-hyo, Bishop at Suwon Parish, presided over a mass held below the electric pylon at Pyeongtaek. More than 700 people showed up for the mass, which was held to demand a prompt resolution for the problems at Ssangyong Motor.

Participants at the mass called on Ssangyong Motor and the government to form a deliberative body for labor, management and the government that would seek to restore the jobs of the laid-off workers, to create a government response system for mass layoffs, to investigate charges that have been made, to compensate the victims, and to discontinue the use of provisional seizure of property.

On Mar. 31, Son Dal-ik, director of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, will lead an Easter service held to seek a resolution to the Ssangyong Motor crisis. This Easter street service will be held in front of the incense stand for the Ssangyong victims at Daehan Gate across from City Hall in Seoul.

One of the people attending the mass was Kim Jae-uk, secretary general of an organization for Catholic priests in the Suwon Diocese. “Park Geun-hye kept saying that she would bring justice to the mistreated and that laying off workers was nothing to be proud of. Where is she now?” Kim asked. “If the President wants to bring unity to the people, she should start by listening to workers’ cries of desperation.”

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