Now, Korea is a battle ground by the riot police of the Kim Dae-jung Government (President Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize, last year)

Dear Friends,

Hi, I'm Patch A, a member of Daewoo Joinst Struggle Headquarters. We send  you this newsletter out  of a sense of urgency.  The workers at  Daewoo Motors have been on strike against the lay-offs of 1750 workers since  the 16th of February.   The Kim Dae-jung government has brutally  repressed the workers, sending in riot police to break up the strike at the factory. Workers, students, and social movement activists have been engaged in an all-out battle against the Kim Dae-jung Government ever since, resulting  in the arrest of  dozens and  the injury  of hundreds.

 Bu-pyung area, which is near the Daewoo Motor's Factory in Korea, recently is like a place under martial law!!! Today, also thousands of policemen were sent and completely blockaded around the factory very forcibly and violently. Even they did violence to lots of babies, children and wives who are struggling with their fathers and husbands on the spot, who were fired from Daewoo Motor. But, in this fatal situation, President Kim Dae-jung now is trips to the United States(March 6th - March 11th). He has tried to oppress these people's struggle by using only riot policemen's violence. Also, he ignored Daewoo people's pain and went to United States.

The people of Korea need your solidarity to overcome this attack by the Kim Dae-jung Government. Send your messages of support to the workers at Daewoo. Send your   messages of protest to the Korean Kim Dae-jung Government and police. And Could you mind organizing actions at Korea Embassies in the world. Especially, President Kim Dae-jung is now in Washington.(He will be there, Washington, till March 11th.) So, if people in United States make an solidarity action in there to censure the Kim Dae-jung Govenment's oppressing Daewoo laborers in Korea, it will be the real international Solidarity and we will appreciate very much. Thank You. An injury to one is an injury to all!  

 More information on the Daewoo Struggle:  http://dwtubon.nodong.net/english/

March 7th, Korea,

The Press Interview by Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (March 7, 10AM, in Sankok Catholic Church, Bupyong, Korea)

1. As all of you native and foreign reporters, who came to cover the Daewoo affairs, have witnessed, Bupyong and Daewoo Motor Co. is now under a vigilance state without the actual proclamation of martial law. Police forces, armed with clubs and shields, are on strict watch in each pedestrian crossing, alley, tollgate and subway station to haul anyone randomly. And attending work and operations are practiced like military drills with about ten thousand combat policemen stationed at the Daewoo Motor Co. factory. Who would say the resuming operation - suppressing the 1,750 who were laid-off from work and ignored of any minimum procedures and adequate standards conformed by law, arresting and searching for most of the executives of the labor union and also illegal act of blocking the attendance to the labor union office which is secured by the law - can be a normal operation? The Kim Dae-jung government and the mobilization of the press only says that only the thing left is the marketing of the regularly operating Daewoo Motor Co. to General Motors Corp.(GM), without any mention of the vigilance state of about the ten thousand stationed policemen.
2. But we will firmly maintain the Daewoo Motor struggle and extend it nationally and internationally for the withdrawal of Kim Dae-jung's political power which has ruptured the living rights of laborers and the people by the structural regulation of neo-liberalism and layoffs, the disappearance of reformation policies beginning with 3 big reformation legislations. The Korean Confederation of Trade Union and about 3 thousand laborers from all over the country has participated in the resolution rally opened today for the withdrawal of Kim Dae-jung's political power in Bupyong station at 2pm. Tomorrow on the 8th, about 5 thousand participators are expected to attend the political power withdrawal resolution rally in Youido, Seoul. On 14 and 17, there will be rallies held in Kwachon and around the country at the same time and in late March, a large scaled capital struggle and mass meeting held simultaneous in all parts of Korea to show our firm struggle against Kim Dae-jung. And also starting from April, a more advanced resolute struggle of a joint general strike of all laborers who have been trampled by structural regulation and a union struggle of all social standings is planned. Kim Dae-jung's political power is rambunctiously expanding starting with the layoff of Daewoo Motor Co. and will spread to all industries and businesses.
3. We would like to ask President Kim Dae-jung. What is the intention of creating a vigilance state of stationing about ten thousand policemen in order to force the operation of Daewoo Motor? Whatever the disposal situation of Daewoo Motor, it will be impossible in a guard of ten thousand policemen. All circumstances are brought upon the government itself and whole responsibility rests with the government. The police force stationed at Daewoo Motor Co. is to be immediately pulled out and the practical vigilance state twined in the Bupyong district must be called off. And all illegal actions and violation of human rights like illegal compulsory haul, illegal questioning, blocking legal rallies, indiscriminate violence and assault, blocking the entrances of labor unions and so are to stopped immediately. The real principal offender, Kim Woo-jung of the Daewoo affair should be arrested at once and the Kim Woo-jung list must be made public. The measure to avoid dismissals which is like a death penalty to the families of 1,750 laborers by desired retirement and unpaid rotation temporary retirement plan the labor union has presented and an unrepentant counterplot conjured by Kim Il-sup committeeman and the current executives onto the conduct direction of Daewoo Motor.  This is the only way to save Daewoo Motor, its laborers, citizens of Incheon City and for the normalization of Korea's economy.
4. The results of the neo-liberalism of 3 years worth of Kim Dae-jung's political power has only left a great gap between the rich and the poot, foreign outflow of essence enterprises and also the rupture of the lives of laborers and the people. And the reformation policy of the big 3 reformation legislations, the abolition of the national security law, human rights committee law, preventing social decays and so on are at miss. The Korean Confederation of Trade Union insists that if President Kim Dae-jung doesn't stop dismissals focused on structural regulation and the immediate enforcement of true reformation measures like the big 3 reformation legislations, the whole nation will struggle to withdraw the stained Kim Dae-jung's political power.  <March, 7, 2001, Korean Confederation of Trade Union>

This is the recent Newsletter about Daewoo Struggle Published by PICIS (Policy and Information Center of International Solidarity in Korea)          

• The Daewoo workers need you Support!!
• Solidarity to the Workers at Daewoo Motors!!

The Daewoo workers have declared an all out struggle against the largest lay-offs ever  in Korea, amidst brutal suppression from the Kim Dae-jung Government. The workers  of  Daewoo Motors had already been several strikes on and off during the last 9 months, but the struggle reached its peak on the 16th of February as the  union   announced an indefinite general strike against management's official announcement that 1,750 workers would be layed off. The management had made some revisions to its  demands, for example, insisting that 400 of the 1,780 will be given 2 year leave  without wages, but the union did not make any compromises.            

The management has shut down the Bu-pyung plant where all of 1,750 to be laid off are  working, but the union has called  for the workers to keep working, organize education  sessions and struggles. The police sent 2,000 riot police to the Bu-pyung plant and blocked   the gates  to prevent   the workers  who,  having received their 'pink-slips' by post, came to  the plant to join the demonstrations. Family members of  the laid-off workers have also come to the plant in anguish to join forces with the striking workers. The management hired 300 'security' thugs to fight the workers, and on 19th February, the Kim Dae-jung Government took affirmative  action and sent thousands of riot police to the plant to bread up the strike. The police thoroughly ignored the  children  of the workers who had come hanging on their mothers' backs, broke through the gates and  forcefully dispersed the  workers, causing many injuries.            
After the suppression of  the struggle at  the Bu-Pyung plant, the workers are now  out on the streets. On the 20th, 2,000 workers and students demonstrated at the Bupyeong  Station and fought vigorously  with molotov cocktails. They continued onto  the next day. But the police closed off and blocked  the demonstrators even before   they had commenced. The demonstrators instead ran onto the highway and marched approximately 2km towards Seoul. On the 23rd, one worker who could not bear out  the  burden of being laid-off committed suicide. On the 24th, the police once again chased  the workers  and students who were trying to come together at the Bu-pyung Station. Some demonstrators were even driven onto the rails and were injured. The demonstrators then took over a road  but were chased again into a  nearby university and  fought until dusk.  8  buses with supporting workers  and family members  also joined the barricades. More than   2,000 workers  fought  around  the  country the same day.            

We are  witnessing once  again, how the economic crisis is brought on and used by the capitalist to throw workers onto  the streets, weaken  workers' power and bloat  the wealth in their pockets. The brutality of the riot police brought  out once again the essence of the Kim  Kim Dae-jung Government, who came into power with sweet advertisements of democracy, as he shattered all hopes and immediately started his neo-liberal regime. Although it is evident whose side the Kim Dae-jung Government is on, the abrupt and pitiless violence shown towards the Daewoo workers came as a   shock. The workers, who have nothing more to lose, are fighting back.            

Along with the struggles at the plant, KCTU and other progressive organizations have formed   Daewoo Motors Joint Struggle Headquarters  to assist the workers struggles  at the same time calling  for the arrest of the Daewoo chairman, Kim Woo-Chung.  Early morning  on 9th  February, 50  members of  'Daewoo  Motors  Joint  Struggle  Headquarters  Arrest  Squad' occupied the luxurious house  of the Daewoo chairman,  Kim Woo-Chung, calling for the his arrest, on multiple charges against him in connection with the dismantled conglomerate's huge financial scams. Although the allegations  have been proven to be true, the Korean Kim Dae-jung Government is not making efforts to bring Kim home. About one month ago, the Korean news broadcasted pictures of  Kim leisurely playing golf somewhere in sunny California, although  he  seems to   have moved  now either  to Europe, Morocco or Sudan.

The  Arrest Squad sent its  members to Europe on the 23rd, in search for the 'fugitive' and  force him  to  come  home  and  face  the   charges. The   Joint Struggle Headquarters have made  contact with  the International Metallic Workers Federation for  assistance, and have sent  multi-lingual 'Wanted'  posters to foreign organizations and unions. The  'Wanted' not only  aims at the  arrest of Kim but also for  the confiscation of the  wealth he  had illegally  accumulated and  to publicize the collaboration of the Kim   Dae-Jung Kim Dae-jung Government. Their objective of arresting Kim is really symbolic - they will be meeting with various anti neo-liberal groups and trade  unions to call for international solidarity.            

The struggle continues as the Joint Struggle  Headquarters has organized daily demonstrations. The struggle is gaining strength  as more and more workers, students, and activists are joining the demonstrations.  The struggle  moved to Seoul  today, as  about 3000 participants gathered to denounce the  Kim Dae-jung Government's actions.  Protestors threw rocks and  molotov  cocktails at  police, again engaging in violent and  intense clashes with police,  which have  become routine during the past week.   The oppression from the Kim Dae-jung Government  is  also  becoming  more  severe,  as  police  have outlawed all demonstrations  in the  Bu-pyung area  and dozens have been arrested during the demonstrations.  We will keep you updated on the results of the struggles.                      

Your solidarity and interest  would  be  a great   help to   the workers' struggle in Korea.

Please send your words of solidarity to the Daewoo Motors Joint Struggle Headquarters
(E-mail : dwtubon@nodong.net, dwtubon@jinbo.net, patcha@patcha.jinbo.net)            

In Solidarity
Daewoo Joint Struggle Headquarters
Patch A.

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