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| As riot police entered Ssangyong Motor's Pyeongtaek factory grounds, Ssangyong employees were hit by nuts and bolts shot with slingshots on July 21, 2009. | ||
Fired auto workers occupying part of a South Korean automaker's assembly line used slingshots to fire pieces of metal at riot police Tuesday, while media reports expressed fears of a violent ending to the standoff.
Lee Won-muk, a Ssangyong Motor Co. spokesman, said an estimated 500-600 people are occupying a paint shop at the factory. He said four people - Ssangyong employees not part of the protest and police - were hit by nuts and bolts shot with slingshots by the workers. He did not know how seriously they were injured.
Some 2,000 riot police are deployed outside of the factory while 1,000 others are inside the plant grounds, said an officer with the Gyeonggi provincial police. The factory is located in Pyeongtaek, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) south of Seoul.
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media, said there were no major clashes, though confirmed that some workers fired slingshots. He said about 600 workers were either inside the paint factory or on the roof.
Riot police entered Ssangyong Motor's Pyeongtaek factory grounds Monday where the hundreds of fired workers have been occupying part of the plant for two months, paralyzing production at South Korea's fifth-largest automaker. The workers are opposed to major job cuts that are part of a restructuring plan. The automaker has been in court-approved bankruptcy protection since February.
Media reports said the paint shop contains flammable materials that could potentially ignite amid a major clash. The Hankyoreh newspaper expressed fears that a police assault could result in a "second Yongsan" referring to a battle between police and squatters in Seoul earlier this year that left six people dead.
The dispute has its roots in Ssangyong's application earlier this year for bankruptcy protection after months of falling sales and mounting red ink.
As part of its revival, Ssangyong has been carrying out a major restructuring, aiming to shed 2,646 workers, or 36 percent of its work force. Some 1,670 have left the company voluntarily though nearly 1,000 opposed the move. Some were later fired, Lee said.
Ssangyong mostly manufactures light SUVs and a luxury sedan, the Chairman.
The company sold 13,020 vehicles during the first six months of the year, down 73.9 percent from the same period in 2008, according to Yonhap.
Ssangyong, which also has a separate engine factory, sold a total of 92,665 vehicles in 2008, down almost 30 percent from the year before. The majority were exported to Europe, China and other countries. Ssangyong does not export to the United States.
Yonhap quoted South Korea's minister for Knowledge Economy Lee Youn-ho as telling lawmakers Monday that Ssangyong was at a major turning point.
"The possibility of Ssangyong Motor's survival is seen as very low," Lee said. "If production stoppage continues, the insolvency of Ssangyong Motor will be unavoidable."
Ssangyong is majority-owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., one of China's largest vehicle manufacturers, though it lost management control amid the bankruptcy protection process.
Ssangyong filed for bankruptcy protection in January amid falling sales and mounting red ink.
By Ahn, Youngjoon (AP)
