South Korean police commandos battled through a hail of firebombs, metal parts and burning tyres to seize a building occupied by strikers in a bid to evict them from a car plant.
The operation left dozens of people injured with 23 sent to hospital for treatment, Yonhap news agency reported. Three vehicles used by the strikers for barricades were burnt.
It began after thousands of riot police surrounded a paint shop and an adjacent building at the Ssangyong Motor plant in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometres south of Seoul on Tuesday.
Police storm Korean car plant South Korean police storm a factory occupied by hundreds of laid-off workers.
Hundreds of workers - armed with metal pipes and inflammable paint thinner - have occupied the factory since May 21 in protest at job cuts designed to save the Chinese-invested company.
Witnesses said two police helicopters sprayed liquid tear gas. Police removed barricades with forklifts to help about 100 commandos climb ladders to a rooftop through a hail of nuts and bolts fired by catapults.
Strikers also hurled firebombs and rocks or rolled out burning tyres, but failed to stop police reaching the rooftop of the building attached to the paint shop, where unionists have holed up.
Police tried to move into the paint shop itself but retreated after fierce resistance from the strikers.
More than 500 unionists were still inside the paint shop, which is stacked with inflammable materials. Hundreds of firefighters were on standby.
The strikers' occupation has virtually halted production at the debt-stricken plant. Three days of talks between managers and union leaders broke down on Sunday, raising concerns the company may go bankrupt.
The firm in February secured court protection from creditors after China's Shanghai Automotive Industry gave up management control. Court-appointed managers have since struggled to turn it around through job cuts and cost savings.
The programme calls for the sacking of 2646 workers or 36 per cent of the workforce. About 1670 of these have taken voluntary redundancy but others began an occupation of the plant.
Creditors have threatened to push for bankruptcy against the loss-making plant. But the union has refused to give up its demands for no lay-offs and no lawsuits against it for damages.
The stand-off has cost Ssangyong about 316 billion won ($307 million) in lost revenue. The country's smallest auto firm specialises in sports utility vehicles and luxury sedans.
AFP
Police raided the SsangYong Motor Company's plant in South Korea today, in order to evict workers who have been occupying the plant since May in protest of proposed layoffs. Most of the workers were those who were previously fired for opposing layoffs.

100–400 police officers raided the auto plant south of Seoul at around 10:00 a.m. (local time).  Police intended to evict some 600 striking workers who, according to a union representing the workers, "will fight to the death should police forcefully break up the occupation."  Workers at the plant are resisting police by attacking them with slingshots, metal pipes and molotov cocktails.

During the raid, two unnamed workers fell from the four story building while trying to stop the police from landing onto the roof from cargo containers dropped by helicopter. Both sustained injuries, with one in critical condition from the amount of blood he lost.

SsangYong Motor Company has been in court-approved bankruptcy since February and is planning on laying off a third of its workforce to stay in business. However, workers say the company should provide a better proposal regarding the layoffs as well as a more reasonable compensation package for workers being laid off. The situation has caused the company to lose more than US$184 million in output.