On July 22, 1998, nearly 10,000 workers continued to hold protest strikes at the Hyundai Motors Ulsan plant despite the temporary factory closure by the company. Workers, their families, and even city councillors have rallied around the 100 metre tall smokestack where three former union presidents are holding out in a sit-in protest.

The protest action is led by Kim Kwang-shik, the president of the Hyundai Motors Workers Union, who shaved off his hair on July 20, in front of over 10,000 workers to demonstrate the determination to bring the struggle to a victory. President Kim was joined by some 300 shop stewards [union delegates who are members of the Delegates' Conference, the highest decision making body apart from the general assembly of members] who also shaved off their hair.

The protest strike, with over 5,000 workers maintaining overnight vigil for last two days, began when the management officials went door-to-door to hand deliver notices of termination to some 2,500 workers over the weekend. On July 20, 1998, management declared a temporary closure to prevent workers turning up to work in anger. The union responded by calling on members to report to work to begin the protest action.

The management action has angered the entire Ulsan region, and the entire trade union movement. Management announced the terminations despite the fact that the union has presented a new proposal which includes a range of arrangements for worker-management joint cost saving measures. The union proposal calls for job-sharing with reductions in working hours and rotational leave for some 2,000 workers on 50% of their wage with the union providing an additional 30% from donation funds raised from other members. Management ignored the union proposal and went ahead with the terminations.

On July 21, Chung Se-Young, the Honorary President of the Hyundai Motors, attending an Advanced Management Seminar organised by the Federation of Korean Industries, stated that he was "willing to reduce the size of the layoff". But he insisted that the layoff was necessary regardless of the size because "the world was looking ardently on Korea to see whether Korea was capable of going through with the layoff" [reported by The Hankyoreh, July 22, 1998].

The statement by Chung Se-Yong reflects the repeated statements and inferences by the Korean government and chaebol employers that they need to demonstrate to the International Monetary Fund and international banks that they were serious in their effort for "structural adjustment". It shows how the agenda of "reform" of the Korean economy raised at the outset of the crisis was distorted to meaning nothing more than the "resoluteness to sack workers".

The need to show the capacity to sack workers lies behind the unwillingness of the government and the employers to "entertain" any other alternative measures to meet the challenge of the crisis. This is clearly demonstrated by the lack of utilisation of the "working hours reduction wage loss compensation programme". The government has allocated some 400 billion won from the Employment Insurance Fund to assist companies to compensate for the wage cut arising from working hours reduction. But only 15 billion won has been drawn by employers to finance working hour reduction. The government has failed to actively encouraging employers to utilise its own employment stabilisation programme.

The employers are resorting to layoff as an opportunity to destroy the union. This is clearly seen by the fact that most of the union activists are included in the termination list. The original list that was announced at the weekend by the Hyundai Motors included Kim Kwang-shik, the current president of the union, many of the former union presidents and 26 current full-time union officers, a large number of union delegates, and other activist members. [Later, the management removed Kim Kwang-shik and 10 full-time union officers from the list. But, other union activists are still included in the list.]

The utter irresponsible attitude of the Hyundai Motors management -- which likes to see itself as the spearhead of the cheabol charge -- is turning out to be a detonator of a dangerous situation.

The action by Hyundai Motors emboldened the rival Daewoo Motors to announce its plan to terminate 2,995 workers. Samsung Electronics and other major Samsung companies are also reported to have started a layoff programme to reduce the workforce by 20%. The massive dismissals are taking place at a time when the official unemployment [for May] has reached 1.5 million, 7%, compared to 2.3% just prior to the outbreak of the crisis.

The massive dismissals by conglomerate chaebol companies are likely to cause a further skyrocketing in the unemployment figures. But, the new round of unemployment differs in that they are "supplied" by workers from large companies who have long experience in organised struggle. They will, therefore, be able to extend their previous struggle. They can serve as the organised core of a new struggle by unemployed people.

The intensity of the Hyundai Motors Workers struggle is demonstrated by the determination of three former union presidents and the 300 delegates who shaved off their hair. Lee Hern-koo, Chung Kap-deuk, and Yoon Sung-geun are three former presidents of the Hyundai Motors Workers Union, who consolidated the democratic tradition of one of the largest single union in Korea. Their sit-in atop the 100 metre high smokestack has become the centre of the workers struggle. They have vowed not to come down from the chimney-top until the union's demands are met. They have become the beacon for the 10,000 workers who gather every day to continue the protest strike.

Following is a leaflet produced on July 22, 1998 by the Hyundai Motors Workers Union

Workers, City Councillors, Families, All of Ulsan is Joining Our Sit-in Strike Around the Factory Smokestack. Our struggle is progressing step by step toward victory.

Three former presidents of the union, Lee Hern-ku, Chung Kap-deuk, and Yoon Sung-geun, three proven leaders started toward the top of the 100 metre-high factory smokestack.

The company cut off the entrance to the ladder, but they placed another ladder to begin their climb. The three former presidents waved their hands to their fellow union members and started climbing up the ladder. They have climbed to the chimney-top to be a beacon for the struggle of thirty thousand-strong union against mass layoffs and union-busting.

"We are with you!" shouted the thousands of workers gathered below the smokestack.

Night was falling. The sky broke open with heavy rain, drenching the three former presidents atop the smokestack and thousands of workers and their families who have set up tents in the factory ground.

The sun rose and the morning came. Comrades looked up the smokestack, and shouted "Hope you've been well during the night!"

The three former presidents waved back, probably not really hearing what their comrades were shouting.

Later, union officers set up a broadcasting system with a wireless microphone delivered to the 3 chimney-top leaders by rope.

The leaders' voices were broadcast live at the 11 o'clock union rally.

"We will not go down until the layoff plan is nullified!"

"Let us fight till the end and be victorious!"

The words echoed in the hearts of the ten thousand-strong who attended the rally.

We are not alone!

The struggle is spreading from Ulsan to the rest of the nation.

The Mayor of Ulsan, city councillors, ordinary people, and workers at other companies in Ulsan are supporting our struggle. The whole nation is watching what's happening in Ulsan. They are all dismayed at the callous action of the management. They know our struggle is their struggle. The North County Council of Ulsan unanimously adopted a resolution opposing the layoff declaring our struggle just.

On July 21, 1998, The mayors of the North County and the East County of Ulsan City declared their opposition to the layoff at a joint press conference. They said the "mass layoff by the Hyundai Motors will lead to serious devastation of the local economy" and called on Hyundai Motors president Chung Mong-kyu and the executive management to directly negotiate with the union. They also called on the government to refrain from using government forces, and to actively mediate for a socially acceptable solution to the situation.

The city and county councillors who were elected as KCTU nominees held a joint press conference and began a sit-in protest action in the Ulsan City Legislative Council.

"What are we supposed to do about our children?" "Stop the layoff, our children will die!"

On July 20, the day the company released the termination list and ordered work stoppage, around 50 family members of union members gathered at the front gate. They continuously shouted and sang, and even pleaded for the cancellation of the layoffs. But the senior management officers in their luxury cars did not even look at them. However, the many citizens who passed by on their way to work stopped at the gate to give encouragement to the women with children in their arms pleading for life -- for their husbands, their children, their whole family.

But, as time went on, they stopped pleading. They grew to 500. They got themselves into a bruising scuffle with security guards. They succeeded in breaking through the barrier and occupied the main entrance hallway and the road in front of the main gate. They shouted slogans calling for the nullification of the layoff.

The next day they appeared again at the front gate again. This time they joined the striking workers and set up tents and began the sit-in protest.

We are not alone! We cannot be defeated!

We are not alone. We are joined by our families, our neighbours, and ordinary people. The Korean Metal Workers Federation began another strike today, June 22, with around 60,000 members joining the strike. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions will go into a new general strike with hundreds of thousands of workers joining in the protest.

We are not alone. We are -- with the three former presidents showing the way -- leading the struggle of all Korean workers to bring an end to the irresponsible and callous actions of the chaebol magnates who are intent of exploiting the crisis for their greed and power.

We will not end our fight until the victory is won.

Please send your letters of protest at the arrest of KCTU leaders to the Korean government, Korean embassies or consulates near you.