S.Korean commandos storm occupied auto factory
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea: Helicopter-borne police commandos fought a pitched battle with militant strikers at an ailing South Korean automaker yesterday, seizing all but one facility in the chaotic compound and increasing pressure on hundreds of hold-out protesters to give up.
The dramatic raid at Ssangyong Motor Co's Pyeongtaek factory came after commandos overran other buildings the day before in an effort to end a standoff that has threatened South Korea's fifth-largest automaker with insolvency.
Ssangyong has been in court-approved bankruptcy protection since February amid falling sales and mounting red ink. Troubles have deepened in the past two months with hundreds of dismissed workers occupying the factory's paint shop - said to be packed with flammable materials such as thinner - to protest massive layoffs.
