Police Move Closer to Removing Ssangyong Motor Strikers

By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

"If you don't talk, just kill all of us!," reads a banner hung by laid-off unionized workers at the paint shop inside the factory of Ssangyong Motor in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, indicating they will not give in as confrontation with police at the plant continued for a fourth day, Thursday.

Riot police are getting closer to the paint shop, taking over facilities one by one from the resisting union members. They approached to within 50 meters of the building, with dozens of policemen and protesters injured during the clashes.

Police are considering using forklifts and other heavy machinery to remove tires and all other barricades the laid-off workers have stacked in front of the building.

Protesters occupying the paint shop continued to fire bolts and sharp metal pieces from huge slingshots.

In response, police have cut off water and food supplies, and make noise all night long to keep them from sleeping.

Helicopters sprayed liquid tear gas onto protesters on top of the building from the morning and huge speakers installed near the building blared messages calling on them to leave.

According to eyewitnesses, a growing number of protesters have been left exhausted since food and water supplies were suspended last Thursday.

Some are reportedly suffering from depression. Those injured have received no medical treatment because of a lack of medicine, a family member said.

She added that the 600 remaining in the building have been eating only one or two rice balls a day.

Thousands of employees and executives came to work for a fourth day.

Ssangyong Motor said Thursday that five unionized workers have left the paint shop on their own over the last three days.

It said a total of 30 people have been injured in clashes, including 12 policemen, 14 employees and five union members.

The company estimated that its production losses have surpassed 261 billion won so far.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr

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