Ssangyong occupation
Articles about the strike and occupation of Ssangyong motor company workers in South Korea against the cutting of 1000 jobs.
Ssangyong occupier jailed
A union member from Ssangyong Motors involved in the strike and occupation of the plant against job losses was sentenced to one and a half years in prison on Friday.
The defendant, identified only by his surname Kim, was tried as one of the ringleaders of the occupation of the company's Pyeongtaek factory.
The Suwon District Court convicted Kim of incurring 2.29 billion won (1.96 million USD) in damages to the automaker and destroying 10 million won worth of office furniture.
Ssangyong motors strike in South Korea ends in defeat and heavy repression
Loren Goldner's analysis and overview of the defeated strike and occupation of the Ssangyong Motors plant against job cuts.
The Ssangyong Motor Company strike and plant occupation in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, ended after 77 days on Aug. 5. For the 976 workers who seized the small auto plant on May 22 and held it against repeated quasi-military assault, the settlement signed by Ssangyong court receivership manager Park Young-tae and local union president Han Sang-kyun represented a near-total defeat.
Ssangyong occupation audio interview with Loren Goldner
Audio interview conducted with Loren Goldner by alternative radio in the aftermath of the two-month occupation of the Ssangyong motor plant by workers against job cuts.
Listen to the MP3 here:
http://www.archive.org/download/InterviewWithLorenGoldnerOnSouthKoreaWorkersOccupationOfSsangyong/mediahacker_korea__ssangyong_loren_goldner_interview.mp3
Or here:
http://radio.indymedia.org/uploads/mediahacker_korea__ssangyong_loren_goldner_interview.mp3
from www.mediahacker.org
Ssangyong occupation has ended: August 6, 2009
Once the fierce fighting ended yesterday (August 5, 2009), 100 strikers left the occupation throughout the night (many out of disgust at the ruthlessness of the state and company's violence). At the end of the negotiations last week, management's last offer was 60% of the workers would accept voluntary retirement (or termination) with 40% taking an unpaid furlough until they're called back. Negotiations began today at 11:00 a.m., with the union now agreeing to retirement for 52%, with 48% for the furlough. The strike is over and the occupiers will leave the factory any minute.
***Update August 6, 2009: the strike & occupation has come to an end on its 77th day***
It ended at 2:50 p.m. Korea time (30 minutes ago).
Ssangyong occupation update: August 5, 2009
The final battle will come shortly. Serious injuries occurred today. The only remaining occupied factory building is the paint department, with about 500 strikers defending it. The cops have taken control of all the rest of the surrounding buildings. The crackdown on the strikers has been extremely brutal.
***Update August 5, 2009 4:30 p.m. (Korea time)***
Condition of workers mentioned in previous thread: one fell going from roof to roof and broke his vertebrae, as well as head injuries. Serious, but not life-threatening. 2 others fell from roof, but injuries were not as serious. But 30 others, on both sides, were injured and needed medical attention.
Ssangyong occupation
August 3, 2009. Worker throwing a molotov.
Ssangyong occupation update: August 4 (Korea time), 2009
***Real Time Update***
Right now a special division of 2,500 police are engaged in an assault on the occupied factory. The cops have removed most barricades and are using aerial ladders to attempt to reach the fortified roof positions of the strikers. 3 helicopters are supporting the cop attack. Hand-to-hand battles are presently occurring and the strikers are fighting back with molotov cocktails. Due to the intensity of the fighting, there will probably be many casualties -- and possibly fatalities.
***Real Time Update (August 4, 2009; 1:30 p.m. Korea time)***
Ssangyong occupation update: August 2, 2009
Talks between management and striking workers who've been occupying the factory have broken down. Electricity has also been turned off, in addition to water which was cut off two weeks ago.
From the Korea Times (with an obvious pro-company bias):
08-02-2009 18:15
Ssangyong Faces Liquidation After Labor Talks Fail
By Kim Rahn, Park Si-soo
Staff Reporters
Troubled Ssangyong Motor faces liquidation after last-ditch negotiations between management and union members representing laid-off workers collapsed Sunday.
Ssangyong occupation update: day eleven, July 30, 2009
Negotiations have occurred several times throughout the day. The major hurdle is layoffs: management says they're necessary; strikers won't budge and demand that no one be laid off, even if it requires less hours for everyone and work furloughs. For the government and management it is crucial to break the strike so that austerity can be imposed on other autoworkers, as well as in other sectors needing restructuring due to the crisis. The biggest creditor of Ssangyong is Sanup Bank(Korean Development Bank), which is government owned.
***Update July 30, 2009***
Ssangyong occupation update: day ten, July 29, 2009
July 29, 2009 is day 10 (corrected: the police assault began July 20). Medical workers and other community solidarity supporters attempted to deliver water to the factory in the morning. In the afternoon KCTU organized a rally of 3,000, only to have it attacked by as many as 10 helicopters dropping bags of toxic tear gas, in addition to 500 riot cops attacking the demonstrators and watercanon trucks spraying teargas on them.
***Update July 29, 2009***
Continued police presence around Ssangyong factory: 
***Morning hours***
