Raid Imminent at Ssangyong Plant
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Police confronted unionized workers inside the Ssangyong Motor factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province for the second day Tuesday.
They made it clear they will end the deadlock as soon as possible as the occupation has already caused huge production losses for the automaker.
A special police unit was witnessed at the scene, indicating that dispersion of the protesters by force was imminent.
Encircling the building 100 meters away, about 1,000 riot police moved 30 meters forward with huge speakers blaring messages encouraging the striking workers to disperse on their own. Protesters shot steel nuts from slingshots at police to keep them at bay.
Around 2,800 Ssangyong workers arrived at the factory in a bid to resume production and some were reportedly struck by the "missiles" on their way to their workplaces.
No serious injuries were reported, but some policemen and office workers received minor wounds, police said.
"The main administrative building and research labs were not seriously damaged. They will begin operations soon," a Ssangyong executive said. "But we were unable to check the condition of some assembly lines due to sabotage by the strikers."
Judge Ko Young-hwan, chief administrator of the troubled carmaker, indicated the possibility of Ssangyong facing bankruptcy.
Ssangyong has been under a bankruptcy protection program since May. By September 15, Ssangyong must submit a self-rescue plan to the court to avoid liquidation.