hankyoreh

secretary-general the Korea Parent Federation

　People from all over the country urging the withdrawal of layoff plans by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) in Busan traveled Saturday and Sunday on board the third round of “Hope Buses for a World without Layoffs and Temporary Work.” They traveled to HHIC’s Yeongdo shipyard, where Kim Jin-suk, 51, a member of the Direction Committee at the Busan office of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), is currently holding an aerial protest.

　　The Hope Bus planning team estimated some 15 thousand participants, while police put the figure at five thousand.

　　In contrast with the first and second campaigns, the organizers decided not to have a street march in order to minimize the transportation inconvenience to Busan residents. But various clashes occurred as conservative groups occupied downtown thoroughfares and detained city buses, actions that were ignored by police.

　　Despite the efforts of police and conservative groups to block them, around four thousand Hope Buses riders gathered at around 1 a.m. on Sunday to hold an overnight cultural festival on the road in front of Seil Heavy Industries, approximately 700 meters away from the shipping crane when Kim is holding her protest. At the festival, the participants called for the withdrawal of layoff plans.

　 Lost Freedom of Transit　

Participants in the third Hope Bus campaign attempted to proceed in groups to the Yeongdo shipyard without marching in the streets, following cultural festivals and assemblies Saturday evening at the square in front of Busan Station and other locations. Amid this, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency closed the Yeongdo and Busan Bridges leading to the shipyard, a step that was not taken during the first two campaigns. Police only allowed city buses to cross the bridges, and forced even those to take detours so that they could not travel toward the HHIC main gate.

　Military personnel were also stationed on the roads around the shipyard to carry out inspections and prevent anyone who was not a Yeongdo District resident from traveling to the shipyard along the sidewalks. This resulted in frequent frictions not only with Hope Buses riders but also Busan citizens.

　A 44-year-old Busan resident named Yu said, “With bus drivers dropping passengers off at the last stop without their permission due to police controls, and the police deploying officers on every street, it took a full two-and-a-half hours to get to Seil Heavy Industries near the east gate of the Yeongdo shipyard, a distance you can normally walk in ten minutes.”

　“What happened in Busan is something you might have seen back in the days of the military dictatorship,” Yu protested.

　　Police said they restricted passage by roads and sidewalks because of the possibility of people climbing the fence of the shipyard, a Level 1 state protection facility, or illegally occupying the road if they all descended on Yeongdo at once, as happened at the times of the first two Hope Bus campaign.

　Police Condone Illegalities by Conservative Groups　　

While holding an assembly on the sidewalk by the Gwangbok branch of Lotte Department Store in front of Yeongdo Bridge on Saturday evening, around three hundred members of conservative groups, including the Korea Parent Federation, occupied a two-way five-lane highway in front of the bridge for around three hours beginning at around 9 p.m., with the stated goal of preventing Hope Bus riders from going to the Yeongdo shipyard.

　　Three conservative group members were taken away by police around 9:30 p.m. after climbing on board city bus No.82 and grabbing the throat of Jinbo Corea co-Director Park Seok-un in attempt to drag him off the bus. One conservative group member went under the bus when the driver attempted to change direction. Around 60 members held back the bus no. 82 carrying Park on board until midnight, effectively holding around ten passengers captive for over two hours. Yet the police responded either with belated attempts to get the situation under control or with feigned ignorance.

　　A 47-year-old passenger named Moon expressed outrage, saying, “I was held captive in a city bus for two and a half hours, and the police did nothing.”

　　 “Members of the Korea Parent Federation who had been drinking engaged in disorderly behavior,” said the police.

　　“We merely exercised caution to avert a clash between the two sides,” the police added. “We were not intentionally slow in getting the situation under control.”

　　Solidarity Gatherings Break Through Impenetrable Barricade　

　The planning team behind the third round of Hope Buses kept in contact with regional officials via Twitter and mobile phone as it periodically changed the scheduled locations for cultural festivals and assemblies. The aim was to break through the police barricade and get to the shipyard while minimizing the travel inconveniences for Busan residents.

　　The police mobilized around 7,000 officers from 87 squadrons. When participants in the third Hope Bus campaign tried to enter on either side of the shipyard‘s front gate, the police set up barricades with police buses in two locations near the shipyard’s east gate and Bongnae Intersection, where they had released tear gas and fired water cannons during the second campaign.

　　After breaking through the multiple barricades set up by the police and conservative activists to reach Yeongdo, around four thousand people held an all-night cultural festival in the four-lane road in front of Seil Heavy Industries, around 700 meters from the Yeongdo shipyard‘s east gate. Participants raised 200 lanterns in a gesture of support and solidarity. At around 1:30 a.m., the voice of Kim Jin-suk rang out from a speaker connected to her mobile phone.

　　“Now that we are selflessly one, they can never defeat us,” Kim said.

　　“Not long from now, there will be a day when I am embracing with you,” Kim added. “Until then, keep smiling and fighting together until the end.”

　Participants responded by shouting, “Kim Jin-suk! Stay strong.”

　　Perhaps out of awareness of the possible inconvenience to residents, participants thoroughly cleaned the site of the cultural festival and gathering before leaving the area in front of the Yeongdo shipyard at around 9 a.m. on Sunday.

　　At around 10 a.m., the Hope Bus planning team held a press conference in front of the main building of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Holdings, where HHIC Chairman Cho Nam-ho is majority shareholder. At the office in Busan‘s Jungang neighborhood, located around three kilometers from the shipyard, the team called for an “immediate withdrawal of the unjust layoffs.”

　　After that, they traveled to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, around thirty minutes away by car, and surrounded the building in a protest against the inspections of Hope Bus participants and vehicle controls, before finally dispersing at around 1:30 p.m.

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