By Kim Rahn
Workers at Hyundai Motor’s Asan plant have refused to work since 2:30 p.m. Thursday, claiming an employee killed himself due to the company’s suppression of the union at the company.
Unionized workers of the motor company claimed the worker, a 49-year-old Park, committed suicide because of Hyundai’s opposition to his union activity. They said they would not resume work until his bereaved family’s demands are met.
Park was found dead after he hung himself at a restroom in the plant in South Chungcheong Province around 8:30 a.m. Another union member found the body and reported it to police.
Park’s family has demanded that the company acknowledge the death as an occupational one, hire a member of the family to replace him, and punish those in managerial posts who they claim were responsible for creating the situation.
According to the union, Park was one of the union leaders responsible for consulting with injured union members and discussing occupational injury cases with management. Before the time-off system was adopted in April, he received a salary for the time he spent for performing union activities, but afterward the company didn’t pay him, claiming it was absence without due notice.
Under the system, the number of full-time paid unionists was drastically cut.
“In his will, Park claimed he was under stress for his union activities, which was not acknowledged by the company. We define the death as a result of the company’s opposition to unions. We are discussing future action,” a union representative said.
A Hyundai Motor official said the company will try to reach an agreement with the union as soon as possible, saying the most important thing is to resume operations to minimize losses.
