The police, in their second raid on the plant of Ssangyong Motor Co. in Pyeongtaek yesterday, gained control of most of the buildings. The head-on collision resulted in dozens of injuries and two fired workers fell from a rooftop while running away from the invading police officials. The police, following their maneuver which started Tuesday to break up the sit-in protests by the fired workers, again sent in special troops into the plant early yesterday morning. After some struggle, a special police corps successfully landed on the rooftops of the assembly plant buildings by using container boxes lifted by cranes, said officials. During the process, two fired workers fell from the four-story high building. "One of the injured workers is in a critical condition, due to loss of blood," said a member of the union. However, a Ssangyong management official refuted that the casualties were not so heavy. At around a.m. 10, following the assembly plants, one of the paint shops was soon invaded by commandos who landed on the rooftops from helicopters, according to officials. The union members fought back with slingshots, metal pipes and Molotov cocktails, causing a fire in the plant that had to be put out by fire-fighting helicopters, said officials. The number of injuries is yet unknown and some reporters are also said to have been hurt at the scene. The police, however, took more caution in raiding the other plant shop, the largest building in the factory that is filled up with inflammable chemicals, according to officials. "We have not set a deadline for our operations, and will take sufficient time in penetrating into the remaining paint shop building," said National Police Agency chief Kang Hee-rak yesterday at the completion ceremony of the Daejeon District Police Agency. "Security should, at all times, be considered the most important in our operations." The second paint shop building, known to be the protesters' strategic base, remains isolated within the police-invaded plant site, cut off from all supplies of food, medicine and electricity. Some 500 resisting union members are said to occupy the building. The automaker has been involved in months-long protests since the massive job cuts on May 22, as an attempt to set its turnaround program to the bankruptcy court by next month. The fluctuating tension at the plant spiked as the final labor-management talks failed on Sunday. The Ssangyong creditors declared to file for the company's bankruptcy to the court, should the concerned parties fail to settle an agreement. (tellme@heraldm.com) By Bae Hyun-jung
2009.08.06
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.