# Special Report


2001

DaewooMotors
Strike Report

in South Korea



                       Joint Struggle Headqurters Against Daewoo Mortors             Solidarity Message


clamp01a.gif  2001. 4. 10

Murderous Oppresion of Workers    (11:14)

On the 10th of April, In-Chon was the site of a total state
of unlawfulness, on the part of the police.
The local court had issued an order for the police to allow
the entrance of layed off workers to their union offices.  However,
the police illegally blocked their entrance and the brutal attack on
the workers was nothing short of attempted murder.  45 workers were
seriously hurt and 20 were arrested.  Even the trade union lawyer
was beaten and is being treated at the hospital.

    The seriously injured who have been accounted for are as follows:

Jun.B.K. : Nose, ribs broken, may lose eyesight
Hong.S.P. : 2 ribs broken, burst lung
Kim.R.K. : Broken leg, face beaten with police club
Jung.S.S. : Difficulty breathing, signs of speech impediment
Choi.H.C. : Broken rib, 7 stitches on knee
Jung.K.C. : Both hands broken by police clubs
Lee.T.S. : Paralyzed below waist
Ryu.S.H. : cerebral paralysis
Jung.S.T. : Injured back
Lee.S.Y. : 7 stitches on head, broken right arm
Park.B.J. : Fingers on right hand broken
Lee.H.S. : Broken rib
Jung.S.Y. : 10 stitches on head and leg
Kim.C.S. : Paralyzed beneath waist

 

clamp01a.gif  2001. 3. 1

At the site of the struggle at Yonsei University    (2:50)


On National Independence day, the struggle by the Daewoo workers moved to Seoul

 

clamp01a.gif  2001. 2. 28 : Struggle in the Streets of In-Chon    (2:50)

 On the day the Korean Metal Workers Federation went on partial strike in solidarity with the workers at Daewoo, the struggle of the Daewoo Trade Union and supporters once again intensified in the streets of In-Chon.  Protestors had to evade police oppression and move to a different site to voice their outrage at the government's actions.

 

clamp01a.gif  2001. 2. 24 : Bu-Pyung rally blocked by police, protestors engange in intense struggle at nearby university     (4:00)

 
Feb. 24th, Bu-pyung station, where the demonstration against layoffs and the attack by police of the Daewoo strike was scheduled, resembled a state of martial law as police filled the area around the station.  Police beat and arrested anyone who seemed a protestor.  Protestors regathered at a nearby university and stacked barricades in the middle of a 8-lane street, and collided violently with police arriving to disperse the crowd.

 

clamp01a.gif  2001. 2. 23.
 : Kim Woo-Choong Arrest Team Departs for France   (3:20)

To France, to arrest Kim Woo-Choong!  The departure ceremony for the arrest team, which had been delayed by the police raid of the Bu-Pyung factory, was held on the 23rd. A laid off Daewoo Motors union member, the spokesman for the Daewoo Motors Joint Struggle Committee, and the director of organization for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions constitute the arrest team.  The team will attempt to track down Kim Woo-Choong, denounce the police raid of the strike in solidarity with progressive organizations in each country, and inform the people of the atrocities of the neo-liberal policies of the Kim Day-Jung government.

 

clamp01a.gif  2001. 2. 22. : Clash at In-Chon University        (3:04)

Bu-Pyung Station was again block by police on the 22nd, and the workers and students gathered at In-Chon University to hold demonstrations in protest.  Violent clashes again ensued.

 
 

clamp01a.gif  2001. 2. 21.    (1:44)

The site of the crack down on the demonstration scheduled at Bu-Pyung on the 21st.  Holding a demonstration was impossible from the start, and dozens(including bystanders and reporters) were hurt and arrested.  



clamp01a.gif  2001. 2. 21.     (1:30)

While police were violently cracking down on the scheduled strike at Bu-Pyung station, about 50 of the protestors headed to a nearby highway, occupied 3 of the lanes, and marched for about 2 kilometers in protest of the govenment's actions.

 

clamp01a.gif  2001. 2. 20.    (3:20)

Demonstration to Denounce Police Raid - Struggle to Re-enter Factory  

In the afternoon of the 20th, a demonstration to denounce the police raid of the Daewoo Motors strike was held with 2000 workers and students participating. After the rally, participants marched toward the Bu-Pyung Factory, and collided with police attempting to stop the march.  Clashes between protestors and police ensued, with Molotov cocktails being thrown and a police buses being burnt in the process.
 


clamp01a.gif  2001. 2. 19.    (2:50)

    Riot Police Sent in to Factory to Break up Strike

 
 

clamp01a.gif  2001. 2. 18. Daewoo Motors Strike Report     (4:30)

Arrest warrants have been put out on 30 of the union leaders at Daewoo Motors since the 17th, and all the entrances to the Bu-Pyung factory are being blocked by police. Around noon on the 18th, union members and their family, social movement activists collided with police while attempting to enter the family.  Many were hurt and several were arrested.

 

 

The Daewoo workers need you Support!!     
Solidarity to the Workers at Daewoo Motors!!

  The Daewoo workers have declared an all out struggle against the largest lay-offs ever in Korea, amidst brutal suppression from the government. The workers of Daewoo Motors had already been several strikes on and off during the last 9 months, but the struggle reached its peak on the 16th of February as the union announced an indefinite general strike against management's official announcement that 1,750 workers would be layed off. The management had made some revisions to its demands, for example, insisting that 400 of the 1,780 will be given 2 year leave without wages, but the union did not make any compromises.

  The management has shut down the Bu-pyung plant where all of 1,750 to be laid off are working, but the union has called for the workers to keep working, organize education sessions and struggles. The police sent 2,000 riot police to the Bu-pyung plant and blocked the gates to prevent the workers who, having received their 'pink-slips' by post, came to the plant to join the demonstrations. Family members of the laid-off workers have also come to the plant in anguish to join forces with the striking workers. The management hired 300 'security' thugs to fight the workers, and on 19th February, the government took affirmative action and sent thousands of riot police to the plant to bread up the strike. The police thoroughly ignored the children of the workers who had come hanging on their mothers' backs, broke through the gates and forcefully dispersed the workers, causing many injuries.

  After the suppression of the struggle at the Bu-Pyung plant, the workers are now out on the streets. On the 20th, 2,000 workers and students demonstrated at the Bu-pyung Station and fought vigorously with molotov cocktails. They continued onto the next day. But the police  closed off and blocked the demonstrators even before they had commenced. The demonstrators instead ran onto the highway and marched approximately 2km towards Seoul. On the 23rd, one worker who could not bear out the burden of being laid-off committed suicide. On the 24th, the police once again chased the workers and students who were trying to come together at the Bu-pyung Station. Some demonstrators were even driven onto the rails and were injured. The demonstrators then took over a road but were chased again into a nearby university and fought until dusk. 8 buses with supporting workers and family members also joined the barricades. More than 2,000 workers fought around the country the same day.

  We are witnessing once again, how the economic crisis is brought on and used by the capitalist to throw workers onto the streets, weaken workers' power and bloat the wealth in their pockets. The brutality of the riot police brought out once again the essence of the Kim government, who came into power with sweet advertisements of democracy, as he shattered all hopes and immediately started his neo-liberal regime. Although it is evident whose side the government is on, the abrupt and pitiless violence shown towards the Daewoo workers came as a shock. The workers, who have nothing more to lose, are fighting back.

  Along with the struggles at the plant, KCTU and other progressive organizations have formed Daewoo Motors Joint Struggle Headquarters to assist the workers struggles at the same time calling for the arrest of the Daewoo chairman, Kim Woo-Choong.  Early morning on 9th February, 50 members of 'Daewoo Motors Joint Struggle Headquarters Arrest Squad' occupied the luxurious house of the Daewoo chairman, Kim Woo-Choong, calling for the his arrest, on multiple charges against him in connection with the dismantled conglomerate's huge financial scams. Although the allegations have been proven to be true, the Korean government is not making efforts to bring Kim home. About one month ago, the Korean news broadcasted pictures of Kim leisurely playing golf somewhere in sunny California, although he seems to have moved now either to Europe, Morocco or Sudan. The Arrest Squad sent its members to Europe on the 23rd, in search for the 'fugitive' and force him to come home and face the charges. The Joint St

ruggle Headquarters have made contact with the International Metallic Workers Federation for assistance, and have sent multi-lingual 'Wanted' posters to foreign organizations and unions. The 'Wanted' not only aims at the arrest of Kim but also for the confiscation of the wealth he had illegally accumulated and to publicize the collaboration of the Kim Dae-Jung government. Their objective of arresting Kim is really symbolic - they will be meeting with various anti neo-liberal groups and trade unions to call for international solidarity.

  The struggle continues as the Joint Struggle Headquarters has organized daily demonstrations.  The struggle is gaining strength as more and more workers, students, and activists are joining the demonstrations.  The struggle moved to Seoul today, as about 3000 participants gathered to denounce the government's actions.  Protestors threw rocks and molotov cocktails at police, again engaging in violent and intense clashes with police, which have become routine during the past week.  The oppression from the government is also becoming more severe, as police have outlawed all demonstrations in the Bu-pyung area and dozens have been arrested during the demonstrations.  We will keep you updated on the results of the struggles.

Your solidarity and interest would be a great help to the workers' struggle in Korea.
Please send your words of solidarity to the Daewoo Motors Joint Struggle Headquarters dwtubon@jinbo.net

 

 


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