SEOUL (AFP) — South Korean riot police on Friday moved into a plant run by ailing Ssangyong Motor to quell clashes between workers striking against a massive job-cut plan and those supporting it.
Police said about 600 officers charged into the carmaker's plant at Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometres (44 miles) south of Seoul, which about 1,000 striking workers, some armed, have been occupying since May 21.
The raid came after union leaders rejected a final proposal by managers to end the walkout.
Clashes began after about 3,000 supporters of the managers marched into the plant, which has been surrounded by thousands of riot police, Yonhap news agency said.
Scores of striking workers wielded metal pipes in an effort to stop the march, leaving a dozen people injured, it said.
"We will not end our strike unless the management withdraws the restructuring plan," Lee Chang-Keun, a union spokesman, told Yonhap.
Ssangyong, the country's smallest carmaker which specialises in sports-utility vehicles and luxury sedans, said the strike had cost 140 billion won (108 million dollars) in lost revenue.
The debt-stricken firm in February won court protection from creditors after China's Shanghai Automotive Industry gave up management control.
Court-appointed managers have since struggled to turn the company around through job cuts and cost savings. Some 1,670 workers have quit the company through voluntary retirement plans.
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