Ssangyong protesters kicked out

A district official stands beside a dismantled tent of laid-off Ssangyong Motor workers Thursday in front of Deoksu Palace, downtown Seoul. About 100 officials of the Jung-gu Office took down the tent where workers had staged a sit-in for about a year, asking the automaker to rehire them. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-won

A Seoul district office forcibly dismantled a tent Thursday where laid-off Ssangyong Motor workers have held a sit-in protest in the heart of the capital city for about a year.

About 100 officials of the Jung-gu District Office arrived at the tent in front of Deoksu Palace around 6 a.m., and took it apart in about 10 minutes, according to the office and the Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), an umbrella organization of the automaker’s trade union.

Thirty-six members of the KMWU were physically moved by police while protesting the demolition, but no injuries were reported.

The trade union of the laid-off workers criticized the authorities and vowed to continue to fight.

“The tent illustrated our wish to go back to work. But the district office took apart it, destroying our hope,” said Kim Jeong-woo, head of the union, in a press conference held at the site.

“We will keep protesting and fighting against those who do not treat us as members of this society.”

Dozens of unionists along with citizens staged a candlelit protest at the site later in the evening, condemning the authorities which dismantled the tent.

The Sssangyong tent had been a center of social protest since its establishment in April 2012, when former unionists of the company set up it in protest against the company’s mass layoffs of workers in 2009.

Since then, activists and citizens had staged demonstrations there on various social issues, ranging from the construction of a naval base on Jeju to a Yongsan redevelopment project and nuclear plant projects. Catholic priests also held mass there every Monday to support the unionists and workers.

The Jung-gu Office said it could not help but dismantle the tent as it illegally occupied a street, disturbing tourists.

“We asked the unionists to take apart the tent because many tourists come there. Many people also complained about the inconvenience of walking there due to the tent,” said Lee Sang-jun, a spokesman for the district office.

Lee said the office repeatedly asked the group to remove the tent, but the workers rejected that request.

Some 280 police officers are stationed near the site and the district office placed large flower pots around the area to prevent the protesters from setting up the tent again.

The Jung-gu office previously tried to remove the tent twice last month, saying it has the right to crack down on illegal facilities in the district. Those attempts failed due to strong opposition from unionists and progressive politicians.

The district office said that the removal was carried out early in the morning to avoid a potential clash with the protesters.