BY IGGY KIM
SEOUL — In an effort to get back in the black, bankrupt Daewoo Motors confirmed on February 16 that it will proceed with the sacking of 1785 workers. This follows the sacking of more than 3500 in recent months. In response, the workers' union decided to strike. Some 200 unionists have begun an occupation of Seoul's Bu-pyung plant, the largest and most important of the company's domestic operations. The strike also has the aim of resisting the takeover of Daewoo by US car giant, General Motors.
The government, Daewoo's creditors and General Motors have declared that the sackings are vital for the company's viability. Management has mobilised a band of 250 thugs to fight the striking workers.
Since the Daewoo Group's collapse in late 1998, tens of billions of dollars of public funds have been spent to salvage Daewoo Motors. In 1999, Daewoo Group president Kim Woo-joong disappeared with these funds, amounting to a third of the South Korean government's budget.
Also at stake is the success of Kim Dae-jung's economic restructuring program. According to Han Sahng-woo of the labour movement committee of the Power of the Working Class (PWC), "If the government cannot complete the restructuring of Daewoo Motors in February, it will be difficult to accomplish the subsequent restructuring of the public and banking sectors according to its schedule.
"If the restructuring continues into March, it will overlap with the workers' struggles surrounding the annual spring collective bargaining, strengthening the anti-restructuring struggle."
Together with the union and the Korean Metal Workers' Federation, a coalition is building community support for the Daewoo workers. The coalition includes activists from 25 organisations. The main forces are the PWC, the Korea Youth Progress Party and the Democratic Labor Party.
The coalition will dispatch a three-person team to France, where Kim Woo-joong has been spotted, on February 20. The team will distribute fliers and put up posters offering a reward of US$500 for information on the whereabouts of the fugitive capitalist. Rallies and meetings supported by French trade unions and progressive groups are also planned.
The Kim Dae-jung regime is reluctant to track down Kim Woo-joong as he could reveal the messy dealings of the government officials, going all the way to Kim Dae-jung himself.
The PWC opposed the tactic of sending the team to France, arguing that it was more crucial to build the strength and breadth of the struggle in South Korea.