Workers Riot After Hyundai Closes 6 Plants

The giant Hyundai combine, South Korea’s No. 1 auto maker, closed six industrial plants Monday, touching off labor violence in the southern city of Ulsan.

An estimated 20,000 workers broke into the compound of the Hyundai shipbuilding subsidiary, the nation’s largest, smashing through the main gate guardhouse. The gate had been blocked by company officials, who used a crane to place a 1,000-ton section of a ship’s hull in front of it.

Later, in heavy rain, about 1,000 workers left the yard and, hurling rocks and bottles, tried to march on the center of Ulsan, according to press reports. They were turned back by riot police firing tear gas.

New Level of Conflict

The step taken by Hyundai, which shut down all the conglomerate’s major operations for an indefinite period, marked a new level of conflict in the labor strife that has crippled South Korean industry in the last few weeks. For the first time, organizers were pushing for recognition of a labor union representing all workers of an industrial group.

Hyundai officials charged that the prospective group-wide union was formed illegally, and insisted that pro-company unions are already established at all Hyundai subsidiaries. The specific reason given for Monday’s action, however, was to protect company property and what officials said was a majority of workers who opposed the new union, which was formed late last week.

The plants closed Monday produce heavy machinery, ships, precision tools and electrical and wood products. Hyundai Motor Co., producer of the Excel subcompact car that is exported to the United States, was closed last week. Officials said production could not continue because labor disputes had disrupted supplies for its assembly line.