Strikers occupying Ssangyong plant to make announcement

PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- Striking workers occupying a paint
shop of Ssangyong Motor Co. said Thursday they will "soon" make an announcement
about their stance as riot police stepped up their siege of the facility.
Some 450 fired Ssangyong workers were still inside the paint shop, where they
have remained since May 22 protesting the company's layoffs that were ordered by
a court in February when Ssangyong entered bankruptcy protection.
"We will soon explain our stance after sorting it out," Lee Chang-keun, a
spokesman for the Ssangyong union, said in a telephone interview with Yonhap News
Agency. He did not elaborate further.
The remark is seen as a significant retreat from the union's previous stance
vowing to fight to the death if police try to forcibly evict them.
Police commandos have seized all facilities in the plant with the exception of
the paint shop as it is filled with flammable materials. Scores of protesters and
police were injured in violent clashes earlier in the week.
The Wednesday raid also prompted some 110 fired workers to voluntarily give up
their occupation, according to police.
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