Strikes Shut Down Dozens of S. Korea Factories

Thousands of workers staging sometimes violent strikes forced shutdowns at dozens of major industrial plants Thursday. The government said new labor disputes started at 18 plants.

The most recent shutdowns were at the country’s largest shipyard, machinery and auto assembly plants, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

The strikers demanded more money, better working conditions and the formation of “democratic” unions to replace existing pro-management unions.

The new stoppages brought to 54 the number of industrial facilities across South Korea affected by costly walkouts, temporary stoppages and plant closings, Labor Ministry officials said.

Labor Protests Surge

Labor protests have surged sharply in recent weeks after the government, reacting to sustained public protests, agreed early last month to sweeping democratic reforms, including more labor freedom.

South Korean workers work an average of 53 hours a week and earn a monthly average of 321,000 won (about $377), with lower-level assembly line workers earning 150,000 won (about $176), according to statistics from August, 1986.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. shut down its shipyard in Ulsan--the nation’s largest--for five days after 15,000 workers began a sit-down strike to demand higher pay and a new labor union, Yonhap said. The company is a subsidiary of the Hyundai group, one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates.

The shipyard employees stopped work Thursday after accusing the company of reneging on its promises to improve working conditions. The promises had ended a strike that lasted for several days last week.

Car Plant Closed

Also in Ulsan, a Hyundai Motor Co. assembly plant was shut down after several days of strikes by hundreds of workers at its parts manufacturing plants.

“The shutdown costs us 10 billion won (about $12.3 million) a day,” one Hyundai official said.

At least 18 companies in Ulsan, a southeastern coastal city that is home to South Korea’s largest industrial complex, were involved in labor disputes on Thursday, Yonhap said.

In the southern coastal city of Changwon, the country’s largest machinery plant suspended operations Thursday as a factory occupation by 1,000 workers entered a second day, local newspapers reported.

The workers at the state-run Korea Heavy Industry and Construction Co. had barricaded the plant’s main gate with trailer trucks and cranes, demanding larger bonuses and the dissolution of the company’s “pro-management” labor union, the reports said.

In nearby Pusan, the country’s largest shoemaking plant--Kukje-ICC Corp.--was shut down indefinitely Thursday after 34 workers were injured in a clash with riot police after 150 assembly line workers went on a rampage, breaking furniture and other facilities with steel pipes, newspapers reported.